Secret Relations
by DuskingMorning21
Summary: Lily, a girl with a haunting past and evil family, struggles between staying true to her friends or giving into the terrible evil inside her. Will she betray the ones she love? Or will she deny her family? Will she pick love? Or will she choose power?
1. Prologue

**Note: I do not own _Harry Potter_. I wish I did. Geez, I REALLY wish I did. . . . Anyway, here's the prologue for my new story, so. . . . Enjoy! :) ALL CREDIT GOES TO J. K. ROWLING FOR BEING TOTALLY AWESOME! Well, that and she wrote the entire series.**

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Secret Relations

Prologue

It appeared to be a normal night at Godric's Hollow on October 31st, but inside the home of Harry and Rachel Riddle, mayhem was just beginning to stir within their bedroom.

"We have to get out of here," Harry said hurriedly to his wife Rachel.

"I know, I know," she said trying to stay calm. "But where will we go?"

"Somewhere far away . . . somewhere he won't find us," her frantic husband replied while throwing his suit case on their bed.

"What about her?" Rachel asked, motioning to the sleeping one year-old in her arms.

"She's just a child! She won't remember this!"

"What if she starts showing signs? What if the letter comes?"

"She won't go. Not unless he's gone."

"But, Harry . . . she'll wonder who she is . . . she'll wonder_ what_ she is! And besides, what about Lily and James?"

"What about them?"

"Shouldn't we tell them we're leaving?"

"Why would we do that?"

"They're our neighbors and former students! Harry, our kids are playmates!"

Harry was finished jamming his clothes into his case and was beginning to pack the baby and Rachel's belongings. "No, they'll be fine . . . you read his letter. He wants us to join him, and you know we would never stoop as low as to do that."

"So what does that mean?"

"He'll kill us."

Rachel fell silent for a few moments before talking again. "Yes, but we still need to warn them."

Harry zipped up the suit case and picked the other one up. He looked at his wife and studied her face for a few moments before sighing. "I suppose you're right."

Feeling relieved, Rachel headed down the stairs and to their flying car (their friend Arthur Weasley charmed a Muggle car for them) while Harry followed her in a hurry. He loaded the bags into their car and just as Rachel was about to put the baby in the car seat, they heard their front door, which was glass, shatter.

Harry and Rachel froze and looked at each other, terror written on their face.

"It can't be . . . can it?" Rachel breathed.

"Oh, Harry," the intruder sang. "I've come for a visit!"

"It is," she whispered, her biggest fears coming true.

"Get into the car," Harry ordered in a hushed tone.

"But Lily and James-"

"Will be fine! They're great wizards," Harry hurried. His wife frowned but got in the passenger seat of the car.

Rachel held their child in her arms held her tightly.

_I hope there is never a day where you will have to face this wicked force,_ she thought as her husband started the car and backed out quickly.

"So . . . where exactly do you plan on going?" she asked Harry.

"I . . . I don't know," he muttered as their car began to lift into the air.

Rachel was only partly listening, for in her review mirror she saw the most terrifying thing in her life. The intruder was standing in their yard, watching them with what appeared to be delight and frustration.

For a split second she was struck silent, not sure what to say, and then she began screaming frantically.

"Harry! Harry!" she cried.

"What is it?" he barked.

"Behind you!"

A red light suddenly engulfed their car, but just before, Harry pulled out his wand, using all of his magic to put a protective spell in Rachel and the baby. The car exploded and Harry was instantly killed. Rachel was thrown out of the car and onto the ground, clutching onto their child desperately. She turned to watch the horrible scene.

"Harry," she said softly as the remains of the car fell to the ground, tears in her eyes. "Harry!"

There was a low laugh behind her and she quickly spun around. "Well . . . Isn't it nice to see you, Rachel."

"Tom," she said stiffly. The intruder growled, marched up to her, and seized her by the neck.

"Don't — Call — Me — That," he spat. He held her gaze for a moment before letting his eyes fall to the child in her arms. "Oh . . . is this your child? Her name is Lily, correct?"

"Don't you dare touch her," growled Rachel.

He ignored her and took the baby in one of his arms and let Rachel fall to the ground as he took his wand in his free hand. Rachel glared at him and drew her own wand.

"Why you-"

"_Avada Kedavra!" _he shouted. Green magic spurted from his wand and grabbed the protective mother.

Rachel was thrown back and pushed into a tree. Her eyes glazed over and her heart stopped beating. She was dead. The man looked down at the child in his arms.

"You. You'll live," he whispered to the baby. "You will live . . . and then we will become the most feared duo in all of the wizarding world!" he let out a maniacal cackle. Then his laughter stopped and he laid the child on the ground.

"I shall go finish my buisness," he growled. "But first. . . ." he took his wand and on the child's left arm, he carved in the letters _T_,_ M_, and _R_. Above that, closer towards the elbow on the inside of her arm, he then put the Dark Mark, which a skull with snake as its tongue. The pain caused the baby to let out shrill cries and the man only laughedbefore heading to the Potter household, where he would soon die, never to return to the crying child.

Moments later, Rubeus Hagrid appeared, and, after collecting the Potter's child from their house, he was heading towards his flying motorbike when he noticed the small baby laying on the ground. His eyes widened when he spotted her.

"Blimey! That child is none other than Lily Riddle! Aren't yeh the child of Rachel an' Harry? I believe yeh are!" he exclaimed. Then he became flustered. "If yer out here . . . where are yer parents?"

His eye caught a glimpse of Rachel's body propped up limply against a tree. He then realized he was surrounded by the remains of their car and saw Harry's burnt corpse among the mess. His eyes widened and got a bit teary before he picked up the child in his large hand.

"First Lily an' James, now Rachel an' Harry," he said softly. "Don' worry, yeh two, Dumbledore'll take care of yeh." He noticed the bloody mess on her left arm and wiped it away with his jacket. Then he noticed the Dark Mark placed on her arm, and it caused him to almost dropped her. "Yeh . . . you've been marked. . . ."

After a few hours and one long motorbike ride later, Lily was resting on the doorstep of 6 Privet Drive, a note in her blanket, where she would be found the next morning by Mr. and Mrs. Peter, a wizard couple. But before that, Dumbledore held the small baby in his arms and looked down at her.

"You're going to have a hard life, Lily," the great wizard muttered. "That mark will follow you everywhere. . . . It'll connect you to the Dark Lord in more ways than you'll ever know. I just hope you have the power to protect yourself."

And with that, he left her there. Lily would spend the next ten years of her life struggling to understand exactly what — and who — she was.

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There's the prologue! Tell me what you think by leaving me a review!


	2. Chapter One

**Alright, well, here's chapter one. And let me just say this now: Lily's story is a lot like Harry's for a while, but please bare with me — she does develope her own plot, but it — well, nevermind, you'll have to find out for yourself.**

**Anyway, with that out of the way, let me just say that I DON'T own anything in this story aside from the Lily, the Peters, and Boston. That's it. Everything and everyone else belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

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Secret Relations

Chapter One

"Lily, wake up!" sang Mrs. Peter as she knocked on the ten year—old girl's door. "It's time for breakfast!"

"Coming," Lily replied sweetly.

She was already dressed and was just brushing out her straight, waist—length, jet black hair, her dark eyes glowing brightly with joy. It was time to go visit her next—door neighbor, Harry Potter. He was also her best — and only — friend.

She skipped down the stairs and to the table, where her guardians were eating.

"Good morning," smiled Mr. Peter, his blonde hair shining in the morning sunlight and green eyes sparkling with happiness.

"Good morning," Lily said, taking her seat at the table.

Her plate and utensils floated over to her and placed themselves in front of her. The refrigerator opened and the milk floated out while a glass removed itself from the cabinet. After pouring the milk into the glass, the milk put itself away and the glass set itself in front of Lily.

"Planning to hang out with Harry today?" asked Mrs. Peter as Lily began eating. Mrs. Peter was a petit woman with chocolate brown hair that she usually kept piled up in a bun on the top of her head, and she had beautiful honey brown eyes.

"Sure do!"

"Well you need to hurry up. I have to leave soon, as does Henry, and the Dursleys are expecting you no later than eleven o'clock. They don't want Harry out too long."

"They don't even like Harry. Why does he have to live with them? Can't he come and live with us? We actually care about him," Lily muttered the last part.

"It's what Dumbledore wanted. He instructed us to take care of you and to raise you so that one day, you can follow your parents' footsteps and go to Hogwarts," explained Mr. Peter.

Lily sighed but continued eating.

"Why can't I tell him he's a wizard?" she pestered after a few minutes.

"He will find out eventually," assured Mrs. Peter.

"Fine," she murmured.

When she was finished and put on her tennis shoes, she said good—bye to her guardians and walked out the door.

Lily knocked on the door of the Dursley household. The door swung open and was practically ripped of its hinges. Standing there with a crazed look in his eyes was Mr. Dursley, and his giraffe of a wife Mrs. Dursley with Dudley and Harry in tow.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley," Lily smiled, trying to seem pleasant. All she wanted to do was to see Harry though.

Mr. Dursley just pushed her aside and stormed out of the house, a frantic Mrs. Dursley following his footsteps. Dudley went to their car after his parents while Harry smiled softly at his friend.

"Hi, Lily," he smiled.

"What's with them?" Lily asked, jerking her head towards the Dursleys.

Harry laughed. "I've been getting tons of letters in the mail lately from all these owls, and it's finally driven Uncle Vernon bonkers."

"Oh," Lily giggled as she finally noticed all the owls surrounding the house.

"Harry!" barked Uncle Vernon. "Hurry it up! We're leaving!"

"Coming," sighed Harry. He looked at Lily. "I guess I have to go."

"See you soon, Harry," she said, giving his hand a squeeze. She watched as Harry walked to the car and climbed in.

As the Dursleys drove off, Lily headed over towards her house. Henry, who was just getting into his car, gave her a quizzical look.

"Are they not home?" he asked.

"There have been loads of owls lately, and they've been trying to get letters to Harry, and I guess Uncle Vernon's gone bonkers, so they're trying to get away."

"Ah," mused Henry with a soft smile. "Well, I must get going. Rosie has already left, so you'll be home alone today. There's some leftovers in the fridge."

"All right," sighed Lily, disappearing into the house. She always hated being left alone, just for the simple fact that she never knew what to do with herself while she was all alone.

Around noon, Lily found herself laying on the couch, absentmindedly tracing the scars on her arm. _T_, _M_, and_ R_. The letters were etched onto her arm for as long as she could remember. Above the scars was a strange black mark that looked like a skull with a snake as a tongue. Lily had had the mark just as long as she had had the scars.

Suddenly there was a knocking on the window. She looked and saw a small owl sitting there with an envelope in its beak. Lily opened the window and the owl hopped inside and dropped the envelope in her lap.

The envelope was made of a heavy yellowish parchment with a purple wax seal with a coat of arms: a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake all surrounding a large letter_ H_. Written in emerald green ink was her name and it read:

**Miss L. Riddle**

**The Second Room on the Right Upstairs**

**6 Privet Drive**

**Little Whinging**

**Surrey**

_Could this be . . . ?_, thought Lilly as she opened the envelope and dumped out the letter inside.

She looked over the letter, which was on the same yellowish parchment as the envelope, and began reading:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of_ WITCHCRAFT_ and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(_Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Miss Riddle,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await you owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

_Minerva McGonagall_

Minerva McGonagall

_Deputy Headmistress_

_I got my letter, _she though happily. _I got my letter!_

She quickly picked up the phone and called Mrs. and Mr. Peter to tell them the news.

Two days later, Lily was sitting on the couch with Mr. and Mrs. Peter, watching a movie and just having fun, when there was a loud knock on the door.

"I'll get it," said Lily, getting up and walking to the door.

She opened the door and gasped. Standing in the doorway was a huge man! He had a long, shaggy mane of hair and a tangled beard, which covered most of his face. He had black eyes that seemed kind and gentle. The man was twice as wide as Mr. Peter, and he was several feet taller.

"Hello!" the man said cheerfully.

"Um . . . Hi," she said warily.

"Lily," questioned Mr. Peter. "Who is it?" he came into view, and when he laid eyes upon the giant, he grinned.

"Hagrid! Is that you?"

"What other half—giants do yeh know of, Henry?" laughed the giant.

Mr. Peter embraced the man and Mrs. Peter came into the hall.

"Hagrid!" she exclaimed. "It's so good to see you!"

"Blimey, Rosie! Yeh've changed!" grinned the huge man., giving her a hug. Then he looked at Lily. "An' yeh must be Lily Riddle! Am I correct?"

"Yes, sir," replied Lily timidly.

"Yeh've grown so much! It's hard to believe that almost ten years ago I was flyin' over here from Godric's Hollow with yeh and Harry in tow! Yeh've grown up so much!"

"Oh! You're the Hagrid I was told about," exclaimed Lily, recalling the story of the night Mr. and Mrs. Peter found Lily on their doorstep. They only gave her the basics, refusing to give her the name of the man who killed her parents, along with Harry's.

"So, what brings you here, Hagrid?" asked Mr. Peter.

"Official Hogwarts business," Hagrid said, sounding proud.

"So why are you here?"

"Dumbledore wants me ter take Lily an' Harry shoppin' in Diagon Alley!"

"Well, you realize Harry and the Dursleys are gone, right?" questioned Mrs. Peter.

"Oh, I know. I was just goin' ter get Lily first," shrugged Hagrid.

"Oh! Well, if that's the case, I'm sure Lily would be glad to go! Right, Lily?" asked Mr. Peter. Lily nodded and Hagrid grinned.

"Splendid! But I would go grab a change o' clothes. We probably won't go ter Diagon Alley 'til tomorrow," he told her. Lily headed for the stairs. "Grab a coat while yeh're at it! There's goin' ter be a storm."

After Lily grabbed a small bag with some clothes in it and a coat, she and Hagrid were off. They used magic to get to the cottage the Dursleys were staying there, and she was glad she brought a coat, because when the got there, there was storm raging on like none Lily had ever seen before. She checked the digital watch on her wrist and saw it was midnight, which meant it was July 31st, which was also her and Harry's birthday.

When they reached the old crooked looking cottage, Hagrid began knocking, the fragile wooden door shaking violently under his hand. No one answered, so he knocked again, the door shaking even more. From inside, a timid call rang from Mr. Dursley.

"Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you — I'm armed!"

Hagrid hit the door and accidentally knocked it off its hinges. He looked at Lily and motioned her into the cottage before he stepped inside and put the door back on the hinges. When Harry saw her, his eyes brightened.

"Lily!" he exclaimed, happily greeting his best friend. Then his eyes wandered back to the giant and fell silent again.

Hagrid turned and looked at all of them. "Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey . . ."

He walked over to the sofa where Dudley sat stupidly.

"Budge up, yeh great lump," said Hagrid, which caused Dudley and squeak and take cover behind his parents.

"An' here's Harry!" he grinned.

Harry looked at Lily and then to the giant and was quite confused.

"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mum's eyes."

Mr. Dursley made a funny noise.

"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said, and Lily noticed the gun in his hand. "You are breaking and entering!"

"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," growled Hagrid. He reached over, snapped the gun out of Mr. Dursley's hands, tied it into a knot, and threw it into the corner of the room.

"Anyway — Harry," started Hagrid, "a very happy birthday to both o' yeh," he said, smiling at him and Lily. "Got summat fer yeh here — I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right.

He reached into a pocket of her black overcoat and pulled out a slightly squashed box. Harry took it and opened it. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with _Happy Birthday Harry and Lily_ written on it in green icing.

Harry looked up at Hagrid. "Who are you?"

Hagrid just laughed.

"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."

He took Harry's hand and shook it, but ended up shaking his entire arm.

"What about that tea then, eh?' he asked, rubbing his hands together, which were probably cold from the traveling. Lily rubbed her hands together slightly and she realized they were cold. "I'd not say no ter summat strong if yeh've got it, mind."

He looked at the fire place, stood up, and used his umbrella to start a fire, which quickly warmed the whole room.

Hagrid sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under him, and began taking things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, chipped mugs, and a bottle of some liquor that he took a swig from before starting to make tea. Soon the hut was filled of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Mr. Dursley said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."

Hagrid chuckled darkly.

"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."

He passed the sausages to Harry, who offered some to Lily. She just politely shook her head and smiled when Harry shrugged and began to scarf them down before finally he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."

"Call me Hagrid," he said after taking a large gulp of tea, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts — yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."

"Er — no," said Harry.

Hagrid paused, and Lily thought he looked shocked. Of course, she was already aware of the fact that Harry knew nothing about Hogwarts.

"Sorry," he quickly added.

"_Sorry?"_ barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. Harry seemed shocked and reached for Lily's hand. "It's them that should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't getting' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know about' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"

"All what?" asked Harry.

"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid shouted. "Now wait jus' one second!"

He was now on his feet, and anger was practically radiating off him.

"Do yeh mean ter tell me that this boy — this boy! — knows nothin' abou' — about ANYTHING?"

"I know _some_ things," muttered Harry. "I can, you know, do math and stuff."

"About _our_ world, I mean. _Your _world. _My_ world._ Lily's _world. _Yer parents' world_."

"What world?"

"DURSLEY!" thundered Hagrid.

Mr. Dursley muttered something inaudible.

"But yeh must know about yer mum and dad," he said. "I mean, they're _famous_. You're _famous, _Harry! You, too, Lily! An' o' course your parents were famous, too."

"What? My — my mum and dad weren't famous were they?"

"Yeh don't know . . . yeh don't know . . ." Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair and Lily was sitting there, frozen. How was she famous? How was Harry famous? How were their _parents_ famous?

"Yeh don't know what yeh _are_?" he said finally.

"Stop!" commanded Mr. Dursley. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to the boy anything!"

When Hagrid spoke, ever word was trembling with rage.

"You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left for him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from his all these years?"

"Kept _what_ from me?" said Harry eagerly, now feeling fine again, and so he released Lily's hand.

"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Mr. Dursley in panic while Mrs. Dursley gasped in horror.

"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," barked Hagrid. "Harry — yer a wizard."

Complete silence fell over them and Lily studied Harry, who seemed completely shocked.

"I'm a what?" Harry finally managed.

"A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, "an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read this letter."

He handed Harry the letter, who began reading it immediately. Lily could feel her own letter in the pocket of her jacket and held it between her fingers, enjoying the feeling.

Harry finished reading the letter and asked, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"

"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid as he pulled several things out of his pockets, including a live owl, a long quill, and a roll of parchment. He began scribbling something down, rolled it up, gave it to the owl, and sent it out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as if it was a perfectly normal thing.

"Where was I?" Hagrid said.

"He's not going," Mr. Dursley said suddenly, but Hagrid grunted.

"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him."

"A what?" said Harry. Lily felt bad for her friend, as she wasn't able to tell him anything about Hogwarts because she was instructed by her guardians not to do so.

"A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."

"We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Mr. Dursley, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"

"You _knew_?" said Harry. "You _knew_ I'm a — a wizard?"

"Knew?" Mrs. Dursley scoffed. "_Knew! _Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that — that _school_ — and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was — a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family."

Lily paused. Harry's mother's name was also Lily? Strange. Then again, she knew her father's name had been Harry.

Mrs. Dursley took a deep breath and continued her ranting.

"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as — as —_ abnormal _— and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"

Harry looked shocked for a moment, as if lost for words. When he finally found some words to say, he said, " Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!"

"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping to his feet. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!"

"But why? What happened?" Harry asked.

Hagrid grew solemn, as did Lily. She always hated when this story was brought up. It always made her sad, thinking about her parents.

"I never expected this," he said in a low voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble getting' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh — but someone's gotta — yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."

Hagrid gave the Dursley's a dirty look.

"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh — mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great mystery, parts of it . . ."

Hagrid sat down and stared at the fire before he said, "It begins, I suppose, with — with a person called — but it's incredible you don't know his name, everyone in our world knows—"

"Who?"

"Well — I don't like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."

"Why not?"

"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See there was this wizard who went . . . bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse that worse. His name was . . ."

"Could you write it down?" Lily and Harry suggested simultaneously.

"Nah — can't spell it. All right — _Voldemort._" Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this — this wizard about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too — some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was getting' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards of witches . . . terrible things happed. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him — an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You—Know—Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.

"Now, Harry, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the mystery is why You—Know—Who never tried to get them on his side before . . . probably knew they were too closer ter Dumbledore ter want anything' ter do with the Dark side.

"Lily, yer parents were just as great as Harry's parents. They were Head boy an' girl, too, back when they were in school. Yer parents were some o' the nicest people I knew! They were really close ter Dumbledore, like Lily an' James. He also waited an oddly long time ter try an' recruit 'em.

"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em . . . maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' — an' —"

Hagrid pulled out a handkerchief and blew his nose.

"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad — knew both o' yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find — anyway . . .

"You—Know—Who killed 'em. An' then — an' this is the real mystery of the thing — he didn't even try ter kill you, Lily. Strange, considerin' he killed everyone. When he tried to kill Harry, things got even stranger. He tried to kill Harry. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on your forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touched yeh — took care of yeh mum an' dad an' yer house, even — but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age — the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts — an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."

Lily watched as Harry began to slowly digest what Hagrid told him. She felt terrible for not telling him earlier, but she knew she was forbidden to tell him.

She yawned loudly and Harry and her sat down on the ground in front of the fire. She rested her head on his shoulder and listened to Hagrid continue talking.

"Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yet ter this lot . . ."

"Load of tosh," scoffed Uncle Vernon. Lily and Harry both jumped; they had forgotten the Dursleys were still there. Mr. Dursley was now glaring at Harry and Lily, but mostly Harry.

"Now, you listen here, boy," he growled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured — and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion — asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types — just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end —"

Hagrid leapt to his feet and pointed his umbrella at Mr. Dursley. "I'm warning you, Dursley — I'm warning you — one more word . . ."

Mr. Dursley fell silent and he took a few steps backwards.

"That's better," said Hagrid, letting out a sigh and sitting back down.

"But what happened to Vol—, sorry — I mean, You—Know—Who?" Lily asked just as Harry was about to asked something.

"Good question, Lily. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill Harry. Makes yeh two even more famous. That's the biggest mystery, see . . . he was getting' more an' more powerful — why'd he go?

"Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter outs. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done it if he was comin' back.

"Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause something' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on — _I_ dunno what it was, no one does — but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."

Hagrid was smiling at the two of them with warmth and respect, and Lily returned the smile. She then looked to Harry and realized he wasn't smiling. He seemed to be debating something in his head.

"What's wrong, Harry?" she asked, sitting up slightly.

"Hagrid," Harry said softly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."

Hagrid laughed.

"Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"

Harry paused and began thinking. Lily watched him and she knew he was thinking about all the times he had made something happen. He told her about the snake incident with Dudley (she found it quite hilarious), and about how he somehow managed to get up on the roof of the school while being chased by Dudley and his friends (she gave him props for that), and about how his hair all grew back over night.

Hagrid, upon seeing Harry was remembering things he made happened, smiled.

"See? Harry Potter, not a wizard — you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."

"Haven't I told you he's not going?" hissed Mr. Dursley. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish — spell books and wands and —"

"If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," said Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbled —"

"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Mr. Dursley.

That did it. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER —" he thundered, "— INSULT — ALBUS — DUMBLEDORE — IN — FRONT — OF — ME!"

He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley — there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Lily saw a curly pig's tail poking through the hole in his trousers.

Mr. Dursley roared. Pulling Mrs. Dursley and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.

Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.

"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."

He cast a sideways look at Harry and Lily under his bushy eyebrows.

"Be grateful if yeh two didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm — er — not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letter to yeh an' stuff — one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job —"

"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.

"Oh, well — I was at Hogwarts meself but I — er — got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."

"Why were you expelled?" Lily asked him.

"It's getting' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."

He took of his thick black coat and threw it to Harry and Lily.

"You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."

The next morning, Lily was woken up by Harry, who gently shook his friend's shoulders. She groaned and sat up groggily.

"Urgh… What is it?" she murmured.

"Get up! We're going to Diagon Alley!" Harry smiled, and Lily noted that he sounded extremely excited.

They left the cottage and crossed the lake, this time by the small row boat instead of magic.

They went to the train station, where Hagrid had trouble with the money ("Muggle money" as he called it), and so he handed the money to Lily and Harry and they got their tickets.

People stared more that ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary—yellow circus tent.

"Still got yer letter, yeh two?" he asked as he counted stitches.

Harry and Lily took the parchment envelope out of their pockets.

"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need."

Lily unfolded the second piece of paper she hadn't noticed before, and read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of _WITCHCRAFT_ and _WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First—year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastening)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_

by Miranda Goshawk

_A History of Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot

_Magic Theory _by Adalbert Waffling

_A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration _by Emeric Smith

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_

by Phyllida Spore

_Magical Drafts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_

by Newt Scamander

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self—Protection_

by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS

ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOM STICKS

"Can we buy all this is London?" Lily asked.

"If yeh knew where to go," said Hagrid.

When they got off the train, they made their way out into the city and Lily and Harry followed Hagrid through the streets until he finally came to a stop.

"This is it," said Hagrid, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."

It was a tiny, grubbing—looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Lily wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Lily had a feeling that only she, Harry, and Hagrid could see it. Before she could say anything though, Hagrid motioned them inside.

The Leaky Cauldron was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"

"Can't, Tom. I'm on Hogwarts buisness," said Hagrid, clapping his great hands on Lily and Harry's shoulders and making their knees buckle.

"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at the two of them, "is this — can it be —?"

Everyone in the Leaky Cauldron became completely still and silent.

"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter… Lily Riddle… what an honor."

The bartender rushed out from behind the counter and over towards the two and shook their hands.

"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back," he smiled. Then he looked at Lily. "You, too, Miss Riddle!"

Then, everyone stood began to shake their hands. After everyone shook their hands, a pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.

"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Lily, Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."

"P—P—Potter and R—Riddle," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping their hands, "c—can't t—tell you how p—pleased I am to meet you."

"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?" Lily asked him.

"D—Defense Against the D—D—Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell. "N—not that you n—need it, eh, you t—two?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g—getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g—got to p—pick up a new b—book on vampires, m—myself."

That was all he got to say because everyone else wanted to talk to Lily and Harry. At last, after ten minutes, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the crowd.

"Must get on — lots ter but. Come on, yeh two."

They walked through the Leaky Cauldron and out into a small courtyard, where there was nothing but just one trash can and a couple of weeds.

"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh — mind you, he's usually tremblin'."

"Is he always nervous?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, he seemed scared or something," muttered Lily.

"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some first hand experience. . . . They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag — never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject — now, where's me umbrella?"

"Vampires? Hags?" questioned Harry, giving Lily a quizzical look. She laughed.

"It'll be a bit of a shock at first, but it'll make sense soon enough," Lily assured him.

"Three up . . . two across . . ." Hagrid muttered after he finished examining the wall. "Right, stand back, yeh two."

He tapped the wall three times with the point of this umbrella.

The brick he had touched quivered — it wriggled — in the middle, a small hole appeared — it grew wider and wider — a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.

"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."

He grinned at their amazement. They stepped through the archway. Lily and Harry both turned and saw the archway shrink instantly back into the solid wall.

The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons — All Sizes — Copped, Brass, Pewter, Silver — Self—Stirring — Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.

"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."

Lily turned her head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, sixteen Sickles an ounce, they're mad. . . ."

A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium — Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Lily paused and looked at a small tawny owl that was sleeping in its cage, its head tucked under its wing. Harry tugged on her hand and she began following him. Her eye caught a glimpse of a pet store that sold only cats, and Lily rushed over and pressed her face against the glass to watch the kittens. She was particularly fond of a small tortoiseshell kitten that was sitting in the far corner, watching the other kittens playfully tackle each other. Once again, Harry had to pull her away from the store.

There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments lily had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleen and eels' eyes, tottering piled of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon. . . .

"Gringotts," said Hagrid.

They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was —

"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps towards him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Lily. He had a swarthy, clever face, pointed beard and, Lily noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floor_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

"Like I said, yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.

A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid, Harry, and Lily made for the counter.

"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe, along with Miss Lily Riddle's."

"You have their keys, sir?"

"Got 'em here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry and Lily watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.

"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up two tiny golden keys.

The goblin looked at them closely.

"That seems to be in order."

"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about You—Know—What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

The goblin read the letter carefully.

"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to the vaults. Griphook!"

Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he, Lily, and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.

"What's the You—Know—What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.

"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts buisness. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."

Griphook held the door open for them. Lily was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches (she was expecting more marble, and by the look on his face, she assumed Harry had, too.). It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in — Hagrid with some difficulty — and were off.

At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages, Lily tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.

Lily heard Harry say something, and Hagrid replied, but their words were lost in the space behind them, so she just sat there silently with her eyes closed.

_I wonder,_ she started, _what Hogwarts will be like. . . Henry and Rosie never told me much about it. They're always so busy with the Ministry. . . At least Harry's going with me. It'll be a sweet relief to know he's going. I wonder who I'll meet! I wonder what house I'll be sorted in! That's even more exciting!_

They stopped at Harry's safe, which was filled with a huge amount of Galleons, Knuts, and Sickles. After he grabbed enough for himself, they went off to Lily's safe, and they found the same thing.

It was like the treasures you usually see pirate movies. Gold, silver, and copper coins glittered everywhere, and Lily was momentarily stunned.

Harry walked into the vault behind her, and Hagrid laughed seeing that Harry too was shocked by the amount of gold, silver, and copper residing in there.

"There's so much," Harry muttered.

"I know," breathed Lily. "What in the world did my parents do?"

"Yer parents were the most famous wizards in the wizarding world, Lily. Yer dad an' mum worked at Hogwarts as the Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions teacher. They were the finest wizards in their day! Yer mum started in Herbology though, but took over the Potions class once Professor Slughorn left Hogwarts."

"So they left all their money to me?" she asked. Hagrid nodded.

"Sure did. An' Harry's parents left all their money to him. D'yeh think they didn't leave you with anything?"

Hagrid took a small bag and scooped quite a bit of money into the bag and then nodded. "That should be enough fer a couple o' terms," he said before handing it to Lily.

They climbed into the cart and were off once again, and in no time they arrived at vault seven hundred and thirteen. It had no keyhole.

"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simple melted away.

"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked though the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.

"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.

"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.

"Remind me never to break into Gringotts," Lily muttered to Harry. He laughed.

Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, and Harry and Lily leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least — but at first they thought it was empty. Then she noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Hagrid picked it up and ticked it deep inside his coat. Though Lily and Harry wanted to know what it was, they decided not to ask.

"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.

One wild cart ride later, they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts.

"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick—me—up at the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Lily and Harry enter Madam Malkin's shop, feeling nervous.

Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.

"Hogwarts, dear?" she said, when they started to speak. "Got the lot here — another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."

In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madame Malkin stood Harry and Lily on stools next to him, slipped a long robe over their heads, and began to pin it to the right length. Another witch worked on Lily's robes.

"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"

"Yeah," said Harry.

"Sure am," smiled Lily.

"My father's next door buying my books and Mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully Father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow. Have _you _got your own broom?"

"No," they said in unison.

"Play Quidditch at all?"

"No," they said again.

"_I_ do — Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my House, and I must say, I agree. Know what House you'll be in yet?"

"Nope."

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been — imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

"I don't think I'd go that far," Lily muttered.

"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and Lily and pointed at three large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.

"That's Hagrid," said Harry.

"He works at Hogwarts," smiled Lily.

"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"

"He's the gamekeeper," said Harry.

"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage — lived in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunks, tries to do magic and ends up setting fire to his bed."

"I think he's brilliant," Lily said coldly.

"_Do_ you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. Lily clenched her first. "Why is he with you two? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead," said Harry shortly. The boy looked at Lily, waiting for her response.

"Mine are also dead."

"Oh, sorry," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were _our_ kind, weren't they?"

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean," said Harry.

"Mine were, too."

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What are your surnames, anyway?"

"That's you done, my dear," Madame Malkin said to Lily and Harry, and they hopped down from the footstool.

"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose." said the drawling boy.

Harry and Lily were rather quiet as they ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought them (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).

"What's up?" said Hagrid.

"Nothing," replied the two of them. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Lily cheered up a bit when she and Harry found a couple bottles of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, Harry said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"

"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know — not knowin' about Quidditch!"

"Do you know what Quidditch is, Lily?" Harry asked.

"No, not really," she shrugged.

"Really? Surely Henry an' Rosie must've mentioned it ter yeh!"

"They mentioned it, but I never really asked about it."

"Yeh didn't? Weren't yeh interested in findin' out 'bout it?"

"Not really. I mean, it always sounded neat, but I was always preoccupied with other things."

"Like what?"

"Trying to figure out what this is," Lily said, pulling up the sleeve on her left arm to reveal the strange black mark. Hagrid inhaled sharply.

"Pull that sleeve down," he said quickly. She did and gave Hagrid a strange look. "I can't tell yeh what it is. . . Not out here."

"All right," she said softly.

They walked for a little bit longer and Harry told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.

"— and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in —"

"Yer not _from_ a Muggle family. If he'd know who yeh two were — he's grown up knowin' yer names if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles — look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"

"So what _is_ Quidditch?"

"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like — like soccer in the Muggle world — everyone follows Quidditch — played up in the air on brooms sticks and there's four balls — sorta hard ter explain the rules."

"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"

"School Houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers. But—"

"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Harry. Lily put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

"Don't say that, Harry," she said softly.

"Besides, better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You—Know—Who was one."

"Vol—, sorry — You—Know—Who was at Hogwarts?"

"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid, "back when Lily's parents were in school."

Lily shivered; Voldemort had gone to Hogwarts with her parents? She wondered if they had known him back before he was Voldemort.

They bought Lily's and Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Harry commented that even Dudley would have been wild to get his hands on some. Lily and Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from _Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly—Legs, Tongue—Tying and Much, Much More) _by Professor Vindictus Viridian.

"I was trying to find out how to curse, Dudley," said Harry, trying to defend himself. Lily let out a snort of laughter.

"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."

Hagrid wouldn't let them buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients from them, Lily and Harry examined a silver unicorn horn and minuscule, glittery—black beetle eyes.

Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked their list again.

"Just yer wands left — oh yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh two a birthday present."

"You don't have to —"

"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at — an' I don't like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."

Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickers, jewel—bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. Lily was also carrying a large cage, but inside her cage was the small tawny owl she stopped to look at earlier. She couldn't thank Hagrid enough, and she decided to name the small owl Boston.

"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys, Harry. Just Ollivanders left now — only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."

Harry and Lily looked at each other excitedly. The wand… That's what they've been really looking forward to.

The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.

A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Lily felt like she should be quiet, considering the atmosphere. She and Harry stood side—by—side, examining the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. The dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry and Lily both jumped, and Lily tripped over her own feet and fell to the ground. Harry helped her up. A loud crunching noise was heard and Hagrid quickly got off the spindly chair, and Lily guessed Hagrid must've jumped, too.

An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.

"Hello," Harry and Lily both said awkwardly.

"Ah, yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be see you two soon. Harry Potter and Lily Riddle." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes, Mr. Potter. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buy her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."

Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry.

"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it — it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

Mr. Ollivander had come so close, that he and Harry were almost nose to nose.

"And that's where . . ."

Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger.

"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen—and—a—half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands . . . Well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do. . . ."

He shook his and then turned to Lily, smiling.

"Lily Riddle! Let me see. . . . You have your mother's face, I can see. She was a wonderful witch. I remember. . . Oak. Ten inches. Unicorn hair. Very nice. You have your father's hair and eyes though, that is very obvious. He had maple. Twelve inches. Dragon heartstring."

His eyes fell to her left arm and he looked as if he wanted to ask her something, but it seemed as though he decided against it and looked at Hagrid, smiling.

"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again. . . . Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"

"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.

"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern. Harry and Lily were looking at each other, both glad that his focus was now on Hagrid instead of them.

"Er — yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.

"But you don't _use_ them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.

"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Lily noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.

"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now — Mr. Potter, you're up first. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"

"Er — well, I'm right—handed," said Harry.

"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit, and round his head. As he measure, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."

Lily realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between Harry's nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.

"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave."

Harry took the wand and waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.

"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try —"

Harry tried — but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.

"No, no — here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."

Harry tried and tried, but nothing happened. Eventually Lily grew bored and began to examine the shop more closely until she heard Mr. Ollivander say, "Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere — I wonder, now — yes, why not — unusual combination — holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

Harry took the wand. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down though the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of lights on to the walls. Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh very good. Well, well, well . . . How curious . . . How very curious . . ."

He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious . . . Curious . . ."

"Sorry," said Harry, "but _what's _curious?"

Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather — just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother — why, its brother gave you that scar."

Lily paused. That wand. . . . She wondered if it was responsible for her scars.

"Yes, thirteen—and—a—half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember. . . . I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter. . . . After all, He—Who—Must—Not—Be—Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great."

Mr. Ollivander held Harry's gaze for a moment before turning to Lily, smiling softly.

"Now! Time for you!" he pulled out a wand and handed it to her. "Hickory, twelve inches, dragon heartstring. Very durable. Give it a go."

Lily took it and gave it a swish. The glass sitting on the counter suddenly shattered and the water inside sprayed everyone. Mr. Ollivander took it from her and placed it back in its box.

"That's a no," he muttered, pulling out another wand and giving it to her. "Chestnut, unicorn hair, ten inches. Rather bendy. Go on, give it a swish."

Lily did as she was told and its box burst into flames. Mr. Ollivander threw it to the ground and stomped out the flames. Lily placed the wand carefully onto the counter, to make sure she wouldn't set the entire place on fire. Harry was sitting there wide eyed.

"Okay, how about this?" Mr. Ollivander handed her yet another wand. "This is oak, unicorn hair, eight inches."

Lily waved the wand and there was a loud crack as a ladder resting on the wall (Lily guessed it was used to grab wands higher up on the shelf) burst and it began raining splinters of wood everywhere.

"Ah, no," Ollivander said, snatching it out of her hands. He then gave her yet another wand. "Okay. . . . This is holly, dragon heartstrings, eleven inches."

As Lily raised the wand, Ollivander ducked behind the counter, and it was a good thing. She swished the wand and the framed picture of the store hanging on the wall behind Ollivander shattered, and the picture fluttered to the ground. Ollivander stood and took the wand from her.

"Nope, no, most definitely not," he muttered. He pulled out a wand and gave it to her. "Okay, try this one. This has to be it. Phoenix feather, oak, thirteen inches."

Lily swished the wand through the air and the book resting on the counter exploded. Very quickly, Ollivander took the wand from her and he began thinking. Then, as if a light bulb went off in his head, he glanced up at Lily, eyes wide.

"I'll be back!" he muttered, disappearing into the back room.

"I wonder what that was about," mused Harry.

Lily only shrugged and Mr. Ollivander returned, carrying a box.

"This," he started, "this is a wand, almost exactly like the wand owned by He—Who—Must—Not—Be—Named. The only difference is the phoenix feather inside. It belongs to a different phoenix." He handed it to Lily.

Lily felt a warmth spread through out her body and to her finger tips. She flicked the wand and silver sparks shot out, creating a beautiful display. Mr. Ollivander's eyes widened as he watched this.

"I . . . I swore I would never sell that wand. Not after He—Who—Must—Not—Be—Named did what he did. I was too afraid that the wand would once again create trouble. Yew, thirteen—and—a—half inches, phoenix feather. . . . A powerful combination. . . . I hope you will not follow in his footsteps."

"Why would I follow in his footsteps?" Lily asked.

Mr. Ollivander looked at Hagrid, as if he was shocked.

"Was she not informed that he—"

"Don' yeh dare speak o' it," spat Hagrid, shushing Mr. Ollivander, who obeyed. "Dumbledore didn't want ter tell her, so we won't tell her. Yeh understand?"

"Oh, Dumbledore doesn't want to inform her?" Mr. Ollivander asked. Hagrid nodded gruffly. "I'm sorry. I wasn't aware that those were his wishes."

"Well, now that yeh know, no speakin' o' it."

They paid for their wands and left, and Lily couldn't help but wonder what it was that Ollivander wanted to tell her. She wished Hagrid hadn't forbidden him from doing so.

The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as they made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Lily and Harry didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; she didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny—shaped packages, with the tawny owl asleep in it's cage on her lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Lily only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped her on the shoulder.

"Got time fer a bite before yer train leaves," he said.

He bought Lily and Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around, and Lily just looked down at her plate.

"You two all right? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.

"Everyone thinks we're special," Harry finally said. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander . . . but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol—, sorry — I mean, the night my parents died."

Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and wild eyebrows, he wore a very kind smile.

"Don' you worry, Harry. You and Lily will learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts — I did — still do, 'smatter of fact."

Hagrid helped Harry and Lily on to the train that would take them back to the Dursleys and Peters, then handed them each an envelope.

"Yer ticket fer Hogwarts," he said. "First o' September — King's Cross — it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, Harry, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me. . . . See yeh soon."

The train pulled out of the station. Harry tried to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight, but Hagrid was all ready gone. He sighed and plopped down in his seat and looked at Lily.

"So. . . . Were you aware of all . . . this?" he asked, motioning to all his wizarding supplies. Lily chuckled.

"Yeah, I was."

"And you knew I was a . . . wizard?"

"Yes."

"So why didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't allowed to! Trust me, if I could've had it my way, I would've told you years ago! But Mr. Peter kept telling me I wasn't suppose to. He said you'd find out soon enough."

"Oh, I see," Harry said, settling down some.

After an hour, Lily was just walking into the house, where she was greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Peter, who asked her about her day. She informed them of everything, except for the moment between Mr. Ollivander and Hagrid. Then she was off to bed, lugging all her things up the stairs.

* * *

**Well, there's chapter one. What do you think? Leave me a review if you want!**


	3. Chapter Two

Secret Relations

Chapter Two

A month later, Lily was lugging her stuff out of the house and towards the Dursleys. She was traveling with them to King's Cross because Mr. and Mrs. Peter had to go to work early, and therefore she had to ride with them. Mr. Dursley was highly frustrated at that. He tried to protest at first, but Mr. Peter finally talked him into it.

They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Mr. Dursley dumped their trunks onto different carts and wheeled them into the station for them. Mr. Dursley seemed abnormally pleasant, but Lily decided not to bother mentioning it.

"Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine — platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?"

He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.

"Have a good term," sneered Mr. Dursley before walking off without another word.

Lily, trying to find out just where in the world they were suppose to go, stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters. The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when they couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as if they were trying to be stupid on purpose. Getting desperate, they asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one. In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. They were now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, they had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and they had no idea how to do it; they were stranded in the middle of a station with trunks they could hardly lift, a pocket full of wizard money, and two owls.

Hagrid must have forgotten to tell them something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. They wondered if they should get out their wands and start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platforms nine and ten.

At that moment a group of people passed just behind them and they caught a few words of what they were saying.

"— packed with Muggles, of course —"

Harry looked at Lily excitedly. "Did you hear that?"

"I sure did!" she said happily, turning around.

The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry and Lily's in front of him — and they had an owl.

Heart hammering, Lily and Harry pushed their carts after them. They stopped and so did they, just near enough to hear what they were saying.

"Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother.

"Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand. "Mum, can't I go . . ."

"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first.

What looked like the oldest boy marched platforms nine and ten. Lily watched, careful not to blink in case she missed it — but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourist came swarming in front of them and by the time the last back pack had cleared away, the boy had vanished.

"Fred, you next," said the plump woman.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you _tell _I'm George?"

"Sorry, George, dear."

"Only joking, I am Fred." said the boy, and off he went. His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone — but how had he done it?

Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier — he was almost there — and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere.

There was nothing else for it.

"Excuse me," Harry said to the plump woman.

"Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too."

She pointed at the youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.

"Yes, we both are," said Harry, motioning to Lily, who waved awkwardly. "The thing is — the thing is, I don't know how to —"

"How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded.

"Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."

"Er — okay," said Harry.

He and Lily went together, and they walked more quickly. They were going to smash right into that barrier and then they'd be in trouble — leaning forward on their carts, they broke into a heavy run — the barrier was coming nearer and nearer — they wouldn't be able to stop — the cart was out of control — they were a foot away — they closed their eyes ready to crash —

It didn't come . . . they kept running . . . they opened their eyes.

A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign over head said Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. Lily looked behind them and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words _Platform Nine and Three-Quarters_ on it. They had done it.

Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntle sort of way over the babble and scraping of heavy trunks.

The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Lily and Harry pushed their carts off down the platform in search of an empty seat. They passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again."

"Oh, _Neville_," she heard the old woman sigh.

A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.

"Give us a look, Lee, go on."

The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.

Lily and Harry pressed on through the crowd until they found an empty compartment near the end of the train. They put Boston and Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave their trunks toward the train door. They tried to lift them up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice Harry dropped his on his foot.

"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins they'd followed through the barrier.

"Yes, please," Lily panted.

"Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!"

With the twins' help, Harry and Lily's trunks were at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment.

"Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.

"Yeah," breathed Lily, rolling up her sleeves some. "We'd still be working on getting them halfway up the stairs."

"What's that?" said the twins in unison. One was pointing to Harry's lightning scar while the other was pointing to the scar _T.M.R._ on Lily's arm.

"Blimey," said one twin. "Are you — ?"

"They _are_," said the other twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry and Lily.

"What?" said Lily and Harry together.

"_Harry Potter and Lily Riddle," _chorused the twins.

"Oh, them," said Harry.

"Yeah, we are," added Lily.

With a last look at Harry and Lily, the twins hopped off the train.

Harry sat down next to the window and Lily sat next to him, reading a book she snatched off her shelf from home. It wasn't long before the train took off and they were leaving the station.

A few moment after the train left the station, the door of the compartment slid open and the youngest red-headed boy came in.

"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite of Harry. "Everywhere else is full."

"Nope, it's open," smiled Lily.

The boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and Lily and then looked quickly out the window, pretending he hadn't looked.

"Hey, Ron."

The twins were back.

"Listen, were going down the middle of the train — Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right," mumbled Ron.

"Harry, Lily." said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."

"Bye," said Harry and Lily. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.

"Are you really Harry Potter and Lily Riddle?" Ron blurted out.

They nodded.

"Oh — well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you two really got — you know . . ."

He pointed to Harry's forehead and then to Lily's wrist.

Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar, and Lily pulled up her sleeve to reveal the initials.

"So that's where You-Know-Who —?"

"Yes," said Harry.

"But we don't remember it."

"Nothing?" Ron said eagerly.

"Well — I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else," Harry explained.

"Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at them for a few moments.

"Are all your family wizards?" asked Lily.

"Er — yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

"So you must know loads of magic already," sighed Harry.

"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron, directing this towards Harry. "What are they like?"

"Horrible — well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."

"Five," said Ron, looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left — Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."

Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was fast asleep.

"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad from being made prefect, but they couldn't aff — I mean, I got Scabbers instead."

Ron's ears when pink, as if he thought he'd said too much.

Harry began telling Ron about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper gifts from anyone but Lily and the Peters. It seemed after that, Ron had cheered up.

". . . and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort —"

Ron gasped.

"What?" said Harry and Lily in unison.

"_You said You-Know-Who's name!" _said Ron, sounding shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people —"

"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said Harry, "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn. . . . I bet," he added, "I bet I'm the worst in the class."

"I'll be right there with you, Harry," Lily sighed heavily.

"You won'd be. There are loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."

Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything from the carts, dears?"

Harry and Lily, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to their feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry and Lily went out into the corridor.

The woman had tons of cool wizard candy: Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Caulddron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other things. Lily and Harry made sure to buy some of everything before they paid.

Ron started at them as they brought it all back into the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.

"Hungry, are you?"

"Starving," they replied. Lily opened a chocolate frog and, before it could hop away, she ate it. The wizarding card in the packet was Albus Dumbledore. She had plenty of him since Henry would bring her a chocolate frog most days after he clocked out from the Ministry of Magic.

Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."

"Swap you for one of these," said Lily, holding up a pasty. "Go on —"

"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us."

"Go on, have a pasty," said Lily and Ron took one.

Lily stood up and opened the door of the compartment.

"Where are you going, Lily?" Harry asked.

"I'm just going for a little walk," she shrugged.

Lily walked down the train, not really exactly where she was going. She was gone quite a while before she decided to go back to the compartment. As she headed back, she wasn't paying attention to where she was walking and ended up running into someone. She fell to the ground and hit her head on the window.

"Ouch," she muttered, grasping her head. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"That's obvious," spat the person she had run into.

Lily looked up and saw the person she had run into was the pale faced boy from Diagon Alley. He had two friends with him, both large and gorillish-looking.

"Well, sorry," she replied, more resentful. She noticed that his face softened a bit and he seemed to be smiling slightly.

"Well, it's all right, I suppose," he said. Then he offered her his hand and helped her to her feet. "Did you hear everyone talking? Harry Potter and Lily Riddle were suppose to be up in a compartment or something on this train."

"Oh, all right."

"You want to go find Lily with us? We've met Potter all ready; he's nothing more than a wimp if you ask me," he sneered. Lily smiled grimly at this comment. "By the way, this is Crabbe and Goyle," he said, motioning to his two friends. "I'm Draco Malfoy."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lily Riddle," she smiled.

Draco gave her a look of disbelief.

"_You're_ Lily Riddle?" scoffed Draco. Lily nodded and showed him the initials on her arm. "Well, I must say . . . that's disappointing."

"What is?"

"I imagined you'd be a lot . . . cuter."

Lily narrowed her eyes at him, rasied her hand, and slapped him across the face. Draco grasped his cheek, a look of pain, anger, and shock on his face.

"All I said was I thought you'd be cuter!"

"Do you _want_ me to slap you again?"

"No," Draco said quickly.

Next thing Lily knew, a boy with sandy brown hair was standing by her side.

"Don't you have anything better to do besides insult girls?" the boy asked.

"Shut up," growled Draco.

"Why don't you make me?" said the boy, taking a step towards him.

Crabbe and Goyle made a move towards the boy but Lily grabbed the unknown boy's wrist and pushed past them, heading towards their compartment, taking the boy with her.

"What? Finnigan's got himself a _girlfriend_?" taunted Draco.

Lily ignored him though and walked over to the compartment Harry and Ron were sitting in. She let go of the boy's wrist and turned to him.

"Thanks," she said to him, "you know, for what you did back there."

He grinned. "No problem! I'll gladly back anyone up who isn't afraid to smack Draco."

It was Lily's turn to smile. "It's all in the wrist.

"I bet it is," he laughed. "I'm Seamus, by the way! Seamus Finnigan!"

"I'm Lily Riddle."

Seamus' laughter stopped abruptly. "_You're_ Lily Riddle?"

"Sure am."

"Blimey! It sure is nice to meet you! Me mum's told me loads 'bout you!"

"Oh really?" Lily asked, blushing slightly. She wasn't used to the attention. Seamus nodded.

"Yeah! It's nice to finally put a face with the name!"

"Well, I'm glad I got the chance to meet you, Seamus," she said, "but I should probably go back into my compartment."

"Alright," he grinned before walking off.

Lily turned and walked into the compartment and saw Harry and Ron were wearing their robes.

"Oh, is it time to go?" she asked.

"Almost," they replied.

She reached into her trunk and pulled out her robes and, after shooing the two boys out of the compartment, changed.

"All right, you can come back in," she called to them and Harry and Ron eagerly came back in.

A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

"So guess what happened," smiled Lily as she settled into her seat.

"What?" the boys said in unison.

"I slapped Draco," she grinned. Ron's eyes widened.

"_You_ slapped _Draco_?" he asked her, sounding as if he was in a state of disbelief.

"Sure did!"

"And I missed it?"

"I wish you hadn't."

"Us, too," grinned Harry.

"I wish I could've seen his face when you slapped him," muttered Ron, now seeming thoroughly disappointed.

"Well let me tell you, it was priceless," she laughed.

After a few more minutes of some good laughes, the train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Lily shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Lily heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry? What 'bout you, Lily?"

Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.

"C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Lily thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoudler, "jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud "Oooooh!"

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Lily shared a boat with Ron and Seamus. Ron was at the front with Harry behind him, and Lily was behind Harry and Seamus was seated behind her.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then — FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" cried the round-faced boy from the station blissfully, holding out his hands — wasn't his name Neville? Then, they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.

They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"

Hagrid rasied a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door swung open a once. A tall, black-haired witch in emeral-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Lily's first thought was that this was not someone to cross.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Peter's house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.

They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Lily could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right — the rest of the school must already be here — but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room.

"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Huflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House had its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting. I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber.

"How exactly do they sort us into Houses?" Harry asked Ron.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

Lily looked at Seamus, who was standing beside her, and smiled.

"How was the rest of the train ride for you?" he asked her.

"Not bad. I told Ron and Harry about how I slapped Draco."

"I bet you they enjoyed hearing about that," Seamus grinned.

Lily nodded. "They sure did."

He laughed and then several people screamed. They turned and saw why. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all he chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?"

A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.

Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded mutely.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old House, you know."

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floats away through the opposite wall.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."

Lily got at the front of the line behind Seamus, with Harry and Ron behind her, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors and into the Great Hall.

It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundred of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the candlelight. Dotted here and there amoung the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. To avoid everyone's gazes, Lily looked up at the velvety black ceiling dotted with stars.

Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty.

For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then, the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing:

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can top them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong to Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivary_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong to Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just as loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you're a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folks use any mean_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Lily and Harry. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."

Lily smiled softly, "Well, at least he was lying."

Ron grinned at this, "Yeah, you're right."

Feeling more relaxed now that she knew being Sorted wasn't going to hurt, Lily felt excited. She was finally at Hogwarts! Nothing could ruin her mood!

Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbot, Hannah!"

And so the Sorting began. It went on for a while. Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, and Justic Finch-Fletchley were just some of the first years put into Hufflepuff. Terry Boot and Mandy Brocklehurst went to Ravenclaw, and Lavender Brown became the first Gryffindor.

Millicent Bulstrode became a Slytherin. Lily and Harry both agreed that all the people in Slytherin looked extremely unpleasant.

Harry leaned over to Lily after a few moments and said, "Are you feeling sick?"

"No, why?"

"I was just thinking. . . . You and I were always picked last at our old school. . . . What if it happens here?"

Lily only shrugged. "Don't worry. Even if we _are_ picked last, it's not that big of a deal. We'll be sorted, and hopefully into the same house."

"Finnigan, Seamus," called out Professor McGonagall.

"Hope I don't get Slytherin," Seamus muttered before going up and sitting on the stool.

Professor McGonagall placed the hat on Seamus' head and it was silent for a minute (an extremely long minute) before finally shouting, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Seamus let out a sigh of relief and smiled bright at Lily as he headed towards the Gryffindor table.

"Granger, Hermione!"

A girl with curly brown hair practically sprinted to the stool and jammed the hat on her head eagerly.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned.

"Lily," whispered Harry, who seemed even more nervous, "I was just thinking, and . . . and what if we're not picked at all? What if this is just some big mistake?"

"Harry, it's not," Lily assured him. "You'll be fine. Now just pay attention, you may be called up next."

Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, and he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."

Draco happily strutted forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"

Draco went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself. There weren't many people left now, and Harry was looking even more nervous.

_If that's possible, _thought Lily.

"Moon" . . . ., "Nott" . . . , "Parkinson" . . . , then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" . . . , then "Perks, Sally-Anne" . . . , and then, at last —

"Potter, Harry!"

"I was called!" Harry whispered excitedly to Lily.

"Told you," Lily grinned.

Harry stepped forward and whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

"_Potter_, did she say?"

"_The_ Harry Potter?"

Everyone was deathly silent as the hat was placed on Harry's head, and Lily thought that they were all holding their breath.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed — seconds, minutes, hours — but it seemed like a lifetime before the Sorting Hat spoke.

"Hmm. . . . Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind, either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes — and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting. . . . So where shall I put you?"

Lily saw Harry grip his seat tightly as he muttered, _"Not Slytherin, not Slytherin."_

"Not Slytherin, eh? Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that — no? Well, if you're sure — better be GRYFFINDOR!"

The Great Hall exploded with whoops and a loud applause, and Lily watched Harry as he walked towards her.

"How was it?" she asked him.

"Different."

"Was it fun though?"

"Nerve-racking, that's for sure."

Harry went off to take a seat at the Gryffindor table and the Sorting continued.

Others were called up, and soon, Ron had already been sorted into Gryffindor, and the only person standing there was Lily.

"Well, that's everyone," said Professor McGonagall, who hadn't looked up from the scroll. When she did though, she saw Lily and looked quite surprised to see her standing there. "I'm sorry, dear, it seems I've forgotten you. What's your name?"

"Lily Riddle," Lily said softly.

"Pardon?"

"Lily Riddle," she said louder and her voice echoed through out the Great Hall.

The whispering that started when Harry walked up started once again and Lily felt her cheeks burn bright red.

"_Riddle_? Did she say her name was Riddle?"

"Man, Harry Potter _and _Lily Riddle?"

"Riddle? Hm . . . Riddle. . . . Ah! Found you! Riddle, Lily! I'm so sorry, dear! I must've looked right over your name," said Professor McGonagall while picking up the Sorting Hat.

As Lily stepped towards the stool, she saw a man with a long white beard and half moon glasses, and she recognized him as Professor Dumbledore. He was watching her carefully, a small smile on his face. She sat on the stool and Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head.

"Hmmm," said a voice in her ear. It was the Sorting Hat. "Let me see. . . . I sense great power flowing through you, and you have plenty courage. . . . You have a great mind as well, I see, and much talent. . . . There is great potential for you in Gryffindor. . . . But what is this? Riddle is your surname, eh? I remember your father and uncle. . . . Your father belonged in Gryffindor, and I must tell you, he was quite fantastic. Your uncle though . . . your uncle did things that everyone here knows of, and they will never forget, I promise you.

"But what about your mother? She was in Gryffindor, and she did very well. Where to put you . . . where to put you? You could easily fit into Slytherin, it's in your blood. Though you are your father's child, I sense you are much more like your uncle.

"You want to prove yourself to everyone, make yourself known. You're struggling to understand just what you are exactly. You know you're a witch, that much is clear, but you aren't sure whether you fit in or not.

"I think I know where to put you," he muttered before opening his mouth and bellowed, "SLY-"

He was cut short when someone placed a hand on him. Lily turned slightly and saw it was Dumbledore who placed his hand on the hat.

"Dumbledore . . . what are you doing?" it was the Sorting hat.

"Where do you plan on putting this child?" that was Dumbledore. His voice was low, barely audible to Lily.

"Slytherin."

"I must say that I disagree with that choice."

"And since when have you known more about where to put the students than I?" the Sorting Hat seemed angered by Dumbledore's interference.

"Do you really think it's the best idea, putting her in Slytherin? Do you not remember the last time you put a Riddle in Slytherin?" Dumbledore whispered these words, as to make sure no one other than the Sorting Hat and Lily heard him. His words were cold, and Lily shivered a bit.

"I do."

"She belongs in Gryffindor, and you know it," he was still whispering lowly.

There was a pregnant paused. Finally, the Sorting Hat spoke.

"I suppose you're right."

"Very well."

Dumbledore removed his hand from the hat and stepped back. The Sorting Hat sighed deeply before clearing his throat. Still, he paused before speaking, and Lily began to wonder how long she had been sitting up there. The students were still watching her intensely, but Lily got the feeling that they were growing extremely bored.

Finally, the Sorting Hat bellowed, "GRYFFINDOR!"

A huge applause broke out over the students and Lily let out a sigh of relief. She stood and removed the hat before heading over to the table, where Harry and Ron had saved her a seat. Fred and George got up and patted her on the back.

"Congratulations!" they grinned, standing on either side of her.

"I must say, that took a while," mused one twin.

"Never seen that before," said the other.

"How long did it take?" Lily asked.

"Blimey, weren't you paying attention? It took almost ten mintues!" chimmed Ron.

Albus Dumbledore was standing there, beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

"Thank you!"

Lily's mouth fell open. The dishes in front of her were now piled with food. She had never seen so many things she liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.

Lily piled her plate with a little bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat. It was all delicious.

"That does look good." said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harry and Lily cut up their steaks.

"Can't you —?" trailed Harry.

"I haven't eaten for nearly five hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."

"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you — you're Nearly Headless Nick!"

"I would _prefer_ you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy —" the ghost began stiffly, but Seamus interrupted.

"_Nearly_ Headless? How can you be _nearly_ headless?"

Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted.

"Like _this_," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So — new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the House Championship this year! Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the Cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable — he's the Slytherin ghost."

Lily, Ron, Harry, and Seamus follwed Sir Nicholas' gaze over to the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with black staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements.

"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.

"I've never asked," said Sir Nicholas delicately.

When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding . . .

As Lily helped herself to a chocolate éclair, the talk turned to their families.

"I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle, Mum didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."

The others laughed.

"What about you, Neville?" said Ron.

"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me — he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned — but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced — all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here — they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."

Lily was only partly paying attention to their coversations. She looked up at the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban (something he hadn't been wearing the first time they'd met), was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin.

It happened extremely quickly. Professor Quirrell stopped talking to the greasy haired teacher and turned to look at her. He smiled at her, and she began to return the smile when the scars on her wrist began burning. She pulled up the sleeve of her robes and looked at them. The initials were darkening, and they continued darkening until they were jet black.

"What's wrong?" chimmed Fred; Lily was finally able to tell them apart since Fred was sitting to her left and across from her was George.

"Nothing," she said, quickly tugging her sleeve down.

"You sure?" asked George.

"Because you answered pretty quick. . . . A little _too _quick if you ask me," grinned the other.

"It's not important," she said, laughing nervously.

"If you say so," they said in unison with a shrug.

At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.

"Ahem — just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in to the direction of the Weasley twins, who grinned wildly.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore.

Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.

"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"

And the school bellowed:

"_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

_Teach us something please,_

_Whether we be old and bald_

_Or young with scabby knees,_

_Our heads could do with filling_

_With some interesting stuff,_

_For now they're bare and full of air,_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

_So teach us things worth knowing,_

_Bring back what we've forgot,_

_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

_And learn until our brains all rot."_

Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.

"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime! Off you trot!"

The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Lily felt extremely dizzy, but only because she was so tired and full of food. She was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Lily was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt.

A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him.

"Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves — show yourself."

A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered.

"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"

There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.

"Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!"

He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked.

"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.

Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropped the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed.

"You want to watch out for Peeves," said the Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."

At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.

"Password?" she said.

"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it — Neville needed a leg up — and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.

"All right girls, your dormitory is that way," Percy said, pointing at a staircase. "Follow the stairs and you'll find you rooms."

Harry looked at Lily. "Good night, Lily."

"Night, Harry," she smiled. Seamus appeared behind Harry.

"G'night, Lily," Seamus grinned.

"Night, Seamus. Night, Ron," she added before heading up the stairs.

At the top of the spiral staircase — they were obviously in one of the towers — they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Taking a look around though, Lily realized that there were only two trunks in her room: her own and Hermione's.

"Why are there only two?" Lily asked Hermione.

"I suppose it's because there aren't as many girls as boys — also, we're at the very top of the tower, so we were probably the last girls to be placed," she replied.

They changed into their pajamas and fell onto their beds.

Lily's first impression of Hermione was that she was a little bit of a know-it-all who didn't want to do anything but read. After talking to her for about an hour their first night at Hogwarts, she realized how wrong she was. Hermione turned out to be an extremely nice girl, who wasn't _always_ freaking out about school (though that was her main concern).

When Lily fell asleep, she had a dream.

_Lily was sitting in a room with Professor Quirrell. He was talking to her, and he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. The scars on her wrist burned and turned black, and the mark above it flared red. Professor Quirrell started to laugh, and at first it was light and gentle, like a chuckle, but it then turned into a maniacal cackle — something seemed familiar about that cackle. Slowly, he began to unwrap the turban around his head, and he let the cloth fall to the ground. He turned around and Lily saw —_

Lily woke with a jolt, but it was only two o'clock in the morning, so she plopped her head onto her pillow and fell asleep, and when she woke the next day, she didn't remember the dream at all.


	4. Chapter Three

**NOTE: All credit goes to J.K. Rowling. I own Lily, Boston, and the Peters. I wish I owned Harry Potter. *sighs* If only, if only...**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Secret Relations

Chapter Three

"There, look."

"Where?"

"Next to the tall kid with the red hair."

"Wearing the glasses?"

"Did you see his face?"

"What about her?"

"Yeah, that's definitely her."

"Do you believe those rumors?"

"About her uncle?"

"People are saying he worked for You-Know-Who."

"Is that why she was going to be put in Slytherin?"

"Probably. It was weird, Dumbledore interfering like he did."

"He probably thought she'd turn out like her uncle. The man must've been truly evil."

"But still, she and him are the only survivors left by You-Know-Who."

"Good point. Did you see her arm?"

"Did you see his forehead?"

"Did you see their scars?"

Whispers followed Harry and Lily from the moment they left their dormitory the next day. People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at them, or doubled back to pass them in the corridors again, staring. Lily wished they wouldn't, because she was trying to concentrate on finding her way to classes.

There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry told Lily he was sure the coats of armor could walk.

The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"

Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. Harry, Ron, and Lily managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning. Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance of the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor. He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose, and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing.

Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamplike eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later. Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anything (except perhaps the Weasley twins) and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick.

Once you managed to find your classes, it was then the matter of classes themselves. As Lily soon learned, there was a lot more to magic besides waving your wand and saying a few funny words.

They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plats and fungi, and found out what they were used for.

Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staffroom fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emeric the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up.

Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first class he took the toll call, and when he reached Harry and Lily's names he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight.

Professor McGonagall was again different. Lily had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Lily and Hermione had made any difference to their matches; Professor McGonagall showed the class how they had gone all silver and pointy and gave the two girls a rare smile.

The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lesson turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went.

Lily was very relieved to find out she wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn't have much of a head start.

Friday was an important day for Harry, Lily, and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.

"What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar into his porridge.

"Double Potions with Slytherins," said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them — we'll be able to see if it's true."

"Wish McGonagall favored us," said Harry. Professor McGonagall was head of the Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.

Lily looked around and spotted Hermione just as she walked into the Great Hall. She waved her over and Ron muttered something under his breath when Hermione came over and sat next to Lily. Then, the mail arrived. Lily had gotten used to this by now, but it had given her a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps.

Boston hadn't brought Lily anything so far. He sometimes flew in to nibble her ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls. It was the same with Harry and Hedwig. This morning, however, he fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto Lily's lap, and Hedwig did the same with Harry. Lily and Harry looked at each other before tearing open the envelopes. Lily's said, in a very untidy scrawl:

Dear Lily,

I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you and Harry like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three?

I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Boston.

Hagrid

Harry borrowed Ron's quill, scribbled _Yes, please, see you later _on the back of Lily's note, and sent Hedwig and Boston off again.

"Are you ready for Potions class?" Hermione asked Lily as she ate some bacon.

"Eh, sort of. We have it with Slytherin though, and I did slap Draco on the train. . ."

Hermione, who was drinking milk, let out a snort of laughter, and in turn splattered milk all over her face. Lily laughed and handed her a napkin.

"You did _what_?" Hermione asked after cleaning her face.

"I slapped Draco."

"And why did you do that?"

Lily explained the entire thing to Hermione, and by the end, they were both laughing uncontrollably.

"That's just to perfect!" laughed Hermione. Glancing at the clock, she pushed away from the table and stood up. "Well, it's about time we head off to Potions, don't you think?"

"Yeah, probably."

It was lucky Lily had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to her so far.

Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.

Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name.

"Ah, yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new — _celebrity_."

Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Snape continued calling names and when he reached Lily's name, he paused once more.

"My, my, my . . . Lily Riddle_ and _Harry Potter. Well, don't think that just because you two are famous that you'll get special treatment," he spat.

Lily, feeling bold, opened her mouth and said, "I don't believe we asked for any."

Professor Snape looked Lily over with a very displeased look but acted as if he didn't hear her. The rest of the class, however, looked at her, their eyes wide. She flushed with embarrassment and sank a little in her seat.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he started. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. . . . I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Silence followed the speech, and Hermione, who sitting next to Lily, sat on the edge of her seat, looking desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead. Lily couldn't lie, she was very eager about Potions class. The thought of brewing ingredients to make wonderful remedies made her shiver with excitement.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Hermione's hand shot into the air. Harry looked to Lily, begging for help, but she only shook her head, not able to help him.

"I don't know, sir," said Harry.

Snape's lips curled into a sneer.

"Tue, tut — fame clearly isn't everything."

It seemed as if he was ignoring Hermione's hand.

"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but it seemed as if Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. Lily shot a glare at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter. Malfoy caught her eye and stopped laughing immediately and smacked both Crabbe and Goyle before smiling at her. She just rolled her eyes and turned back to the front.

"I don't know, sir," Harry said again.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"

Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling. Lily, however, clenched her fists, angered that Snape continued to pick on her best friend.

"I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"

A few people laughed; Snape, however, was not pleased.

"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. As she sat, Lily stood. Snape looked at Lily vaguely. "That applies to everyone, Miss Riddle." Still, Lily remained standing, and Snape grew irritated. "Miss Riddle, I said —"

"Asphodel and wormwood makes the Draught of the Living Death; an extremely powerful sleeping potion. A bezoar is a stone found in the stomach of a goat and will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite," Lily stated, remembering the endless nights she spent with her nose tucked away into her book _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi._

The room was deathly silent; everyone was watching Lily and Snape, as if they were expecting for them to draw their wands and begin to fight. Instead, Snape broke his gaze with Lily and she sat down. Hermione gave Lily a very strange look but then turned her attention to Snape.

"And point will be taken from Gryffindor for your cheek, Potter," Snape said. Then he looked at Lily, "And you, Riddle, have earned Gryffindor ten points for your knowledge of this subject. But if you speak out of turn again, you will not be rewarded."

Snape put them into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. Thankfully, Hermione and Lily were paired together, and next to them were Seamus and Neville.

Snape swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy and Lily. He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Lily and Malfoy had stewed their horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Lily looked and saw Neville had added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire, and now Seamus' cauldron was melting.

"Neville, move!" Lily exclaimed, pushing him away.

As the cauldron melted, the potion inside splashed onto Lily and Neville. Neville had gotten the worst of it, for his entire body was drenched in it. Lily just got her left arm soaked with it, and it only took moments for the boils to start painfully showing up. Everyone else hopped up onto their stools to get away from the mess and Lily grasped her arm.

"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose. Snape looked at Lily.

"And you were probably trying to get him away from the mess, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Take them up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus and Hermione.

As they were guided to the hospital wing, the four Gryffindors began chatting.

"I can't believe you talked back to Snape," laughed Seamus as they rounded a corner.

"You're absolutely bonkers, Lily," joked Hermione.

"I don't know how you do it," muttered Neville.

"Do what?"

"Stand up to Snape! He scares me," he said sheepishly.

"I don't know, I guess I'm just not afraid of him," she shrugged.

"Well, either way, it was quite impressing," said Hermione. "You even earned Gryffindor ten points."

They arrived at the hospital wing and the nurse looked at them.

"What are you four doing here?"

"There was an accident in Potions class," said Hermione. "We were learning how to cure boils and we accidentally made them instead."

"Ah, I see," she said while walking over to them. She looked at Neville and directed him to a bed. "And where are your boils?"

"Right here," Lily said, lifting her sleeve slightly.

"Well, sit over there. You two can leave now," she said to Seamus and Hermione.

"I have to go anyway, sorry, Lily," said Hermione. "I'll stop by later, okay?"

"Sure thing."

Hermione left and Seamus sat on the stool next to the bed Lily was sitting on. "I can wait here."

"It won't take long," said the nurse, pulling out a bottle. "I'm Madam Pomfrey by the way."

"I'm Lily Riddle," she said with a smile.

"No need to tell me who you are, dear. Everyone knows who you are," said Madam Pomfrey as she slathered Neville with the liquid inside the bottle. In seconds the boils disappeared. "See? Good as new!"

"Thanks," Neville muttered before scurrying out of the room.

As the door clicked shut, Madam Pomfrey walked over to Lily and Seamus.

"Now remove your robe, dear," said Madam Pomfrey.

Lily shrugged off her robe and rolled up the sleeve of her shirt and—

Madam Pomfrey gasped and took her arm. "What is that?"

"Those are my scars," Lily said.

She shook her head. "No, not that. _That_!"

She was pointing to the skull with the snake tongue. She poured the potion onto her arm and the boils disappeared, leaving the mark clear. She froze and released Lily's arm.

"That's the Dark Mark."

Seamus' eyes widened but Lily sat there confused.

"What's the Dark Mark?"

"My dear, the Dark Mark is bared by the Dark Lord's followers."

"So what does that mean? I've never even _met _the Dark Lord."

"It doesn't matter. It seems that before he was killed that he decided to mark you," she said softly. "You are a Death Eater, dear."

"What?" exclaimed Lily, her eyes now as wide as saucers. "But I . . . I don't want to be a Death Eater! I'm just Lily Riddle!"

Madam Pomfrey looked at Lily solemnly. "Oh, dear, it's a shame I can't tell you."

"Tell me what?" Lily asked. Madam Pomfrey looked as if she said too much.

"Sorry, but you must go now. I'm a very busy woman you know," she said quickly, standing up and walking away.

Lily glanced around the hospital room and saw no one else was in there.

_What in the world is she busy with?_, Lily thought.

"Well, come on, we best get going," Seamus said.

Lily stood and glanced at the clock. She had missed tea time with Hagrid.

As the two walked towards the Gryffindor common room, Lily began to think about Madam Pomfrey and how she said she couldn't tell her. It reminded Lily a bit of Hagrid and Mr. Ollivander that day in Diagon Alley.

"Lily," Seamus said suddenly, pulling Lily out of her thoughts, "you're not evil. . . . Are you?"

"Of course not! Or at least, I don't think I am. . . ."

"Well, I was just asking. I really don't think you are," he added quickly. She smiled at this (Lily was also smiling at his Irish accent).

"Thanks, Seamus, it's reassuring to know that. But. . . . I have one question."

"What is it?"

"What exactly _is_ a Death Eater? I mean, I understand their followers of the Dark Lord, but I'm sure he had lots of followers who _weren't_ Death Eaters."

"Well, I don't know much about them, but me mum told me some stuff. I know that Death Eaters were Voldemort's inner circle of followers. They're an evil bunch too, which is why I asked that. I mean, you don't _seem _evil, but you never know."

"Okay. . . . What do you think Madam Pomfrey couldn't tell me?"

"Beats me," shrugged Seamus, "but if you ask me, she seemed a little bonkers to me."

Lily began laughing, and soon, she completely forgot the incident with Madam Pomfrey.

That night she and Hermione were practicing spells for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Hermione was helping Lily with the Flipendo when the Dark Mark on Lily's arm began to pulse painfully. She dropped her wand and grasped her arm.

"Lily!" Hermione gasped. "What's wrong?"

"My. . . .," not wanting to say "Dark Mark", Lily just rolled up the sleeve and showed Hermione the mark.

It was flaring red and Hermione gasped.

"We need to get you to the hospital wing," she said hurriedly.

Lily only shook her head. "I. . . . I'll be fine, really."

"Lily! It's _bleeding_!"

Lily looked down and sure enough, blood was beginning to flow from the mark.

"Fine," she muttered, standing up and pulling her sleeve down. "Let's go."

The two ran down the spiral staircase and into the common room where many older Gryffindors were sitting, along with a couple of first years. Two of the older folks were Fred and George.

"Oy! What are you two doing down here? It's almost time for bed!" said one of the twins.

"Don't plan on sneaking around, do you?' said the other.

"Because if you do," they both started in unison, "you better not leave us behind!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "No, we aren't going to snoop around. Lily needs to go to the hospital wing."

All the chatter in the room stopped immediately and Percy stood. Fred and George stopped smiling.

"And why does she need to go to the hospital wing?" he asked.

"She bleeding."

"Can't she just deal with the cut?" asked one of the twins, who was smirking again.

"Lily, show them," Hermione hissed.

Lily sighed and brought her left arm into view. The sleeve itself was drenched in blood and very carefully she lifted the sleeve to reveal the bloody mess on her arm. The twins' eyes widened, as did Percy's. He nodded very quickly and took Lily by the hand.

"Right, let's get you to the hospital wing," he said, walking to the portrait.

"I'm coming, too," Hermione said, trailing right behind Percy. Much to Lily's surprise, Percy didn't tell her to stay.

When they crawled out of the portrait, Professor Quirrell was standing there awkwardly, gazing at the other portraits on the wall. Lily's scar like it did at the start-of-term banquet, and her mark was beginning to hurt a lot more. Getting to the hospital wing was quite a blur when taking into consideration that it was dark in the castle and the loss blood she was experiencing. What made things even worse is that they were stopped by Peeves the Poltergeist.

"Oy! What are you three doing out of bed? Sneaking around the castle, huh?" Peeves bugged.

"No, we're going to the hospital wing. Now leave us alone, Peeves, or else I'll go get the Bloody Baron!" Percy said, seeming more stern than usual.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED! THERE ARE STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves sang in a shrill voice while floating down the hall.

Percy muttered something under his breath and began leading the two first years down the hall, and he seemed to be traveling a bit more hurriedly than before. It only took minutes though before the three of them were stopped once again by none other than Professor McGonagall.

"What are you three doing out of bed?" demanded Professor McGonagall.

"We're taking Lily to the hospital wing," explained Percy.

"And why's that?"

Lily showed Professor McGonagall her arm.

"What happened?"

"This . . . mark on my arm just started . . . bleeding and it won't . . . stop," Lily said softly, her words coming out slowly. She was feeling extremely dizzy. Blood was streaming down her fingers and dripped off, forming a small pudding on the ground.

"She's lost a lot of blood," Professor McGonagall muttered. "Percy, pick her up. We need to get to the hospital wing quickly. Okay, come along now. . . . Granger, hurry up, we haven't much time."

They were running down the hall now, Lily's head bobbing limply as they hurried around the castle. When they finally reached the hospital, Lily could barely keep her eyes open.

"Madam Pomfrey! We need your help! Now!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed.

"Coming," sang Madam Pomfrey from somewhere far off. Lily's eyes shut but she could still hear everyone. Someone gasped.

"Lily! What happened to her?"

"I don't know," sighed someone. Percy? McGonagall?

"Granger, do you know?" that was McGonagall.

"Well, we were practicing spells for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Lily was having trouble with Flipendo, so I was helping her with the wand movements when suddenly she dropped her wand. She lifted her sleeve and there was blood everywhere," Hermione explained.

"I see. . . . Percy, please take Miss Granger back to your common room. Professor McGonagall, I'll need your help," said Madam Pomfrey.

"Let me stay, please! I want to make sure Lily's okay," begged Hermione.

"Miss Granger, how about you stop by tomorrow morning?" offered Professor McGonagall. Something happened, but Lily could faintly hear the sound of retreating footsteps.

Lily could feel the tip of a wand press against her arm and the pain resided. There was a sigh of relief.

"I'm so glad you could fix that, Madam Pomfrey," sighed Professor McGonagall.

"Yes, but Professor. . . . This is the work of some dark magic. . . . She could've easily died. Don't you think she deserves to know?"

"No," Professor McGonagall said this quickly. "The poor child has been through enough."

"I see, but . . . she deserves to know. She may be a child, but she needs to know who she is! Do you want this school to be held accountable for another evil wizard?"

"No, Poppy, I don't, but we mustn't tell her! She's only a child, and this is something children don't need to be dragged into!"

Silence followed this, and Lily thought they might have left the room, but then the chatter began again.

"I understand. Will she ever be informed though?"

"I can't guarantee if she will or not. That is up to Dumbledore."

"I see. . . Oh, it seems as if the mark is still bleeding a little."

Lily could vaguely feel the tip of a wand on her arm again. She was getting close to completely passing out.

"Hm, strange. . . . The bleeding won't stop," Madam Pomfrey muttered.

"Why don't you just wrap it for now?"

"Yes, yes, good idea."

Cloth was wrapped around Lily's mark, but after that she doesn't know what happened, for she passed out.

* * *

**Alright, well, that was chapter three - sorry it was so short. Anyway, I think it's pretty obvious what's up with Lily and her family, but she doesn't know, so cool it! Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed what you've read so far, and please, please, PLEASE leave a review. I would love to get some feedback, whether it's positive or not. Love you guys, mean it! :D Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter Four

**Note: I don't own Harry Potter, blah, blah, blah, credit goes to Rowling. I do, however, own Lily, Boston and the Peters.**

**Anyway, I've decided to post the rest of year one all at once because, well, I want to, dammit. Enjoy!**

* * *

Secret Relations

Chapter Four

Two days later Lily was released from the hospital wing, but not before discovering she had had many visitors while she was passed out Tuesday night and all of Wednesday. Fred and George brought her some of their own stink pellets, Percy gave her Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Harry and Ron brought her chocolate frogs and pumpkin pasties, along with a get well card, Seamus gave her cauldron cakes and licorice wands, and from Hermione, all the assignments she missed Wednesday (Lily wasn't a big fan of that gift). There were other gifts from a few other Gryffindors, and a card filled with what appeared to be the signature of every Gryffindor, so Lily spent the time to read every name signed on the card.

The day Lily was returning to her classes was Thursday, which was the day flying lessons started, and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together. What made it even worse was Lily couldn't participate since she was just released from the hospital wing. So she was just going to watch everyone else.

Around three-forty that afternoon, Madam Pomfrey helped Lily out of the hospital wing, telling her that it was okay she missed her morning classes. She was led to the field where Gryffindor and Slytherin were already standing, and it appeared they were waiting for the teacher.

"All right, there you go, Miss Riddle," smiled Madam Pomfrey. "Now remember, you are not to fly. I have a note for you to give Madam Hooch."

"Thank you," Lily replied softly, taking the note.

"Okay, have a good day," Madam Pomfrey said

"Oh, one more thing," Madam Pomfrey sang, "stop by once a week so I can check on your arm, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Lily, smiling weakly as the nurse disappeared into the building.

She began to walk towards the group of students, and it didn't take long for someone to shout "There's Lily". Soon she was surrounded by her friends, and one voice rang above the rest.

"Lily! Lily! Oh — move out of my way!" Hermione was pushing herself through the crowd of Gryffindors until finally she reached Lily.

"Hermione," Lily let out a sigh of relief. Hermione smiled.

"I'm glad to see you're okay! I hope you've gotten the assignments. Professor McGonagall said I can help you catch up, so there's nothing to worry about!"

"Good."

That was one less thing she had to worry about.

"Lily!" someone called out. She turned and saw Harry and Ron standing there with happy smiles on their faces.

"Harry! Ron!" She hugged them both.

"Glad to see you're finally out of the hospital wing," Harry said.

"Did you get our gifts?" asked Ron.

Lily nodded. "Sure did. Thanks a lot."

A loud whistle was blown and all the Gryffindors jumped while the Slytherins laughed. Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

"Uh, Madam Hooch," Lily spoke timidly, holding out the note. She took it.

"Let me see. . . . Ah, okay, I see. Just got out of the hospital wing, eh? Okay, no matter, Miss Riddle. You don't have to fly today, so just sit over . . . there, somewhere," she said dismissively while turning back towards the other students.

Lily looked at Harry, who was chuckling softly at Madam Hooch. She sighed heavily and plopped under the tree and pulled out her Transfiguration book, along with the homework. As she worked on it she soon tuned out Madam Hooch, getting lost in the mounds of Transfiguration work she had to make up. It wasn't until she heard someone start shouting that she looked up from the book and saw the chaos unfolding before her.

"Come back, boy!" Madam Hooch shouted to Neville, who was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle — twelve feet — twenty feet. Lily saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and —

WHAM — a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.

Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his. Lily stood up, leaving her homework behind, and stood by Harry and Ron, who gave her the vaguest sign that they noticed her.

"Broken wrist," Lily heard Madam Hooch mutter. "Come on, boy — it's all right, up you get."

She turned to the rest of the class.

"None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear."

Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.

No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter.

"Did you see his face, the great lump?"

The other Slytherins joined in.

"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-face Slytherin girl. "Never thought _you'd_ like fat little crybabies, Parvati."

"Shut up, Pansy," growled Lily, stepping close to the Slytherin. "We actually care about the people in our house."

"Shove off, Riddle," Pansy mutter.

"Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."

It was a Remembrall. Lily had seen a couple of them before. The Remembrall glittered in the sun as Malfoy held it up.

"Give it here, Malfoy," said Harry quickly. Everyone stopped talking to watch and Lily grabbed Harry's wrist, not sure if he should be challenging Malfoy.

Malfoy smiled nastily.

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find — how about — up a tree?"

"Give it _here_!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off, and Lily noted how well he could fly. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter!"

Harry pulled away from Lily's grasp and grabbed his broom.

"_No!" _shouted Hermione. "Madam Hooch told us not to move — you'll get us all in trouble."

Harry ignored her and looked at Lily.

"I'm sure I'll need some help up there," Harry said with a soft smile.

"But I don't know how to fly," Lily said.

"Neither do I, but it can't be too hard, right?"

"Well, if you say so," Lily shrugged while picking up a stray broom.

"Let's go."

"Lily, you're going to get in trouble!" exclaimed Hermione. "You'll get _killed_!"

"I'll be _fine_, Hermione."

She and Harry mounted their brooms and kicked hard against the ground and up, up they soared; air rushed through Lily's hair and she let out a joyful laugh. It was easy, it was _wonderful_. She pulled her broomstick up a little to take it even higher, and Harry did the same. They heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron and Seamus. Lily thought she heard Hermione cheering, but she couldn't be sure.

They turned their broomsticks sharply to face Malfoy in midair. Malfoy looked stun.

"What, too scared to fight alone, Potter?" Malfoy taunted, trying to sound brave.

"Want a repeat of the train, Malfoy?" Lily called. Malfoy's face fell and she head Seamus and Ron both let out a snort of laughter. Even Harry cracked a grin.

"Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!"

"Oh, yeah?" said Malfoy, trying to sneer, but looking worried.

"Stay here," Harry muttered to Lily

Harry leaned forward and grasped the broom tightly in both hands, and it shot towards Malfoy like a javelin. Malfoy only just got out of the way in time and shot past Lily; both she and Harry made a sharp about face and she held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping.

"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called.

The same thought seemed to have struck Malfoy.

"Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back towards the ground.

Harry watched the ball before leaning forward and pointing his broom handle down — next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball. Lily feared he would crash and took off after him. Harry stretched his hand out and caught the Remembrall before pulling his broom straight. Lily saw the broom shake and she snatched Harry by his robes just as the broom took a nose dive. She pulled up hard on the handle and hoisted Harry onto the broom right as his own crashed into the ground.

"Thanks, Lily," he said as she headed towards the ground.

"No problem; you were right, about flying, I mean. It's really easy," she told him before landing on the ground.

She and Harry got off the broom and he held up the Remembrall to show everyone he caught it.

"Told you I'd need you up there," he grinned to her as they started walking toward the Gryffindors.

"Thanks for that," Lily smiled.

"HARRY POTTER! LILY RIDDLE!"

Lily's heart sank and by the look on his face, so did Harry's. Professor McGonagall was running towards them. Lily and Harry just stood there, trembling.

"_Never_ — in all my time at Hogwarts —"

Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, "— how _dare_ you — might have broken your neck —"

"It wasn't their fault, Professor —"

"Be quiet, Miss Patil —"

"But Malfoy —"

"That's _enough_, Mr. Weasley. Potter, Riddle, follow me, now."

Lily caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's triumphant face as they left. When Malfoy met her eyes, however, he quit smiling and elbowed both Crabbe and Goyle, who quit smiling immediately. She continued walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode toward the castle. They were going to be expelled, she just knew it. Mr. Peter would kill her, and Mrs. Peter wouldn't be any better. Getting expelled from Hogwarts? Her heart was all ready racing at the thought of Dumbledore snapping her wand in two. Now she'd done it.

Up he front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to them. McGonagall wrenched open the doors and marched along the corridors with Harry and Lily trotting miserably behind her. She was probably taking them to Dumbledore. Lily would return home with her head hung low. How could she have done this?

Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.

"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?"

_Wood? _thought Lily. Someone named Oliver Wood had signed a card the Gryffindor House gave her. Was it the same Wood?

Wood turned out to be a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwick's class looking confused. Lily saw he was wearing the robes of a Gryffindor and she guessed he was, in fact, the Wood who had signed the card.

"Follow me, you three," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Harry and Lily.

"In here."

Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.

"Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door shut behind him and turned to face the three students.

"Potter, Riddle, this is Oliver Wood. Wood — I've found you a Seeker and Chaser."

Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight.

"Are you serious, Professor?"

"Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "They're naturals. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, you two?"

"Yes ma'am," Lily said while Harry just nodded silently.

"Potter caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told wood. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done that."

Wood looked impressed.

"Riddle is extremely talented, too. She took a fifty-foot dive, caught Potter, and pulled straight up with ease; still carrying Potter! It was perfect! If it weren't for the fact that we have you, I'd say she'd be perfect for a Keeper position. She probably wouldn't be a shabby Beater either, but we have the Weasley twins."

Now Oliver looked both impressed and extremely happy.

"Ever seen a game of Quidditch?" he asked excitedly.

"Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained.

"He's just the build for a Seeker, too. Riddle, you're perfect!" said Wood, now walking around them. "Light — speedy — we'll have to get him a decent broom Professor — and you, Riddle — a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."

"I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. _Flattened_ in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in face for weeks . . ."

Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Lily and Harry.

"I want to hear you two are training hard, or I may change my mind about punishing you."

Then she suddenly smiled.

"Your father would have been proud — both of you," she said. "They were excellent Quidditch players themselves.

"You're _joking_."

It was dinnertime. Harry and Lily had just finished telling Ron what had happened when they'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it.

"_Seeker and Chaser?" _he said. "But first years never — you must be the youngest House play in about —"

"— a century," Harry and Lily said in unison.

Lily shoveled some pie into her mouth and was tapped on the shoulder. She turned and came face to face with Seamus.

"So how much trouble are you in?" he asked solemnly.

"None," Lily said cheerfully.

"That's terri — wait — none?" he exclaimed, looking extremely shocked.

"Yeah, none!"

"How?"

"You really want to know?" Lily asked, dropping her voice. Seamus nodded. "You have to promise me you won't tell any one."

"Okay, I promise."

"Well. . . . She put me and Harry on the team."

"WHAT?" Seamus practically screamed.

Everyone stopped talking and looked at the two first-years.

"Uh. . . . Hi," Lily said awkwardly before everyone looked away and resumed talking. Lily looked at Seamus with wide eyes and he blushed furiously.

"Sorry," Seamus apologized, "but are you _really_ on the team?"

"Yeah. They're putting me on as a Chaser and Harry's the Seeker!"

"That's amazing! I can't believe it!" Seamus exclaimed. "There's no way I'm going to miss a game!"

"I'll have to make sure I never suck," laughed Lily.

Seamus' face suddenly fell.

"Great, look who just showed up," Seamus sighed and Lily turned and saw why he said that. Standing there with his gorillaish friends was none other than Draco Malfoy himself.

"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"

Lily may have been seeing things, but she could've sworn Malfoy gave her a sympathetic look before placing the scowl back on his face and looking at Harry.

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly.

"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only — no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"

"Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?"

Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up.

"Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."

Malfoy took a step toward Lily, showing Harry their conversation was over.

"Hey, Lily," Malfoy smiled. "You coming to the duel?"

Lily shrugged, "Maybe."

"Well, you might want to be there when your friend gets his —"

"Go away, Malfoy," growled Seamus, cutting Malfoy off.

Malfoy paused and looked from Lily to Seamus and then back to Lily, a smug smile on his face.

"Oh, I see. Finnigan all ready had a _crush_ on Lily!" he laughed, his voice echoing loudly through out the Great Hall.

People stopped eating and talking and turned towards Malfoy, Seamus, and Lily. It only took a few moments before the entire hall broke out in laughter. The only people who weren't laughing were Lily, Seamus, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, whom Lily had failed to notice earlier. The teachers at the High Table were giving Malfoy a disapproving look and Lily stood up, glaring sharply at him.

"Leave us alone, Malfoy," Lily spat through clenched teeth.

"Oh, standing up for your boyfriend, Lily? Are you two in _love_?"

"No, Malfoy, he's my friend. Now leave us alone!"

"Whatever," he huffed before storming off, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.

When Malfoy had gone, and the talking resumed, Lily let out a sigh and sat down. Seamus was blushing and staring down at the table, refusing to look at Lily. Ron, however, was watching Lily with a look of awe.

"Bloody hell," Ron breathed. "I've never seen anyone stand up to Malfoy like that."

"Well, now you have," she said while eating some of her now cold pie.

"So what _is_ a wizard's duel?" said Harry after a moment of silence. "And what do you mean, you're my second?"

"Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually.

Lily, who had a mouthful of pie in her mouth, nearly choked on her food.

"But people only die proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway," Ron added quickly.

"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"

"Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Ron suggested.

"There _is_ another way to fight a guy and win," Lily said nonchalantly with a small smile on her face.

"NO!" exclaimed Harry and Ron together.

"Excuse me."

They looked up. It was Hermione.

"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron.

Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry.

"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying —"

"Bet you could," Ron muttered.

"— and you _mustn't_ go wandering around the school at night. Think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."

"And it's really none of your buisness," said Harry.

"Good-bye," said Ron.

"Boys," Hermione sighed before standing up and walking away.

"Honestly, Lily, how can you share a _dorm_ with her? I can barely sharing the same air as her!" exclaimed Ron.

"She's not as bad as you think. You know, if you actually got to know her, you'd probably like her," Lily said cheerfully.

"Doubt it," Ron scoffed.

That night, Lily was lying awake in her room, waiting for eleven forty-five to come. That was the designated time she, Harry, and Ron would meet. She was working on all the assignments she missed, and it was a lot. Especially for Potions. Snape assigned two essays, each at least two rolls of parchment each, along with tons of book work. All the work was due tomorrow. She was beginning to think about skipping the duel.

Eleven thirty rolled around and Lily decided she'd have to skip the duel if she wanted to finish all her work. She threw back the covers and was just about to sneak through the door when —

"_Where_ do you think _you're_ going?"

Hermione was standing in front of the door. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she had a disapproving scowl on her face.

"I was going to go wait for Ron and Harry so I could tell them I'm not going," Lily replied plainly.

"Oh, yes, I _sure_ that's what you were doing," she replied sarcastically.

"Hermione, I'm serious! I have two essays due tomorrow, and each of them have to be at least two rolls of parchment!"

"Then I suggest you stay here and do your work so you don't get into any trouble. I'm going to go stop those two from losing all our House points."

"Since when did you become my mother?" Lily muttered as Hermione left.

She climbed onto her bed and pulled out a roll of parchment along with ink and a quill. She lugged her Potions book onto her bed.

"_Dragon Hide: Where To Find It And How To Use It_. . . . Yeah, that's a good title."

Thirty minutes passed and still Hermione hadn't returned. Lily was getting a bit anxious. She wanted to hear how Ron and Harry responded to Hermione telling them what to do. She finished her essay on dragon hide, reaching a total of three-and-a-half rolls of parchment.

It was two o'clock in the morning when Lily finished her last essay on mermaid hair and its uses when the door of her dorm swung open and Hermione walked in.

"Hermione? Where have you been? Are you okay?" Lily asked while scrambling out of her bed.

"There's a . . . a . . ." Hermione stammered.

"A what?"

"A THREE HEADED DOG!"

Lily's eyes widened.

"WHAT?"

"THREE. HEADED. DOG!"

"Okay! Okay! Shh! You'll wake everyone up! Now, start from the beginning — and go slow. Also, don't be so loud. I think someone's awake," Lily whispered.

It didn't take long for Hermione to tell Lily everything that had happened while she was out with Ron, Harry, and Neville. By the end of her story, Lily was at a loss for words.

"They have a _three headed dog _in the _school_? Do they _want _someone to get killed?" Lily practically yelled.

"Be quiet," Hermione scolded. "But yes, that's what I was thinking. Though I don't really want to know what it's guarding."

"Are you _serious_? A three headed dog is guarding something in this school and you're not the _least_ bit curious as to what it could be?"

"Not really."

Hermione drifted off to sleep and Lily wasn't far behind. When Lily slept though, she had a strange dream:

_Lily was sitting in a strange room that looked like an unused classroom. Was it somewhere in the castle? Propped against the wall was a mirror as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. Lily hesitated before deciding to look into it. In the reflection, she saw a man with jet black hair and dark eyes and a woman with brown hair and blue eyes. Lily looked a lot like both of them, especially the man. They looked very familiar. Were they friends of her guardians? Neighbors? No. . . . She knew who they were. Those two people were her parents. She had seen a picture of them once before. Lily reached out and touched the reflection and the man grabbed her hand. Suddenly her parents dissolved and the mirror became cloudy. Then a face jumped out at her __— literally jumped out at her. Lily took a step back as the face emerged from the mirror with a body connected to it. It was a boy who looked a lot like Lily with black hair and dark eyes, and he appeared to be around her age. The boy was looking at her with much displeasure and he drew his wand. Lily felt fear surge threw her and tried to run, but her leg responded sluggishly as if she was trying to make her way through a pit of quicksand. Her breath was coming in rapid short gasps and Lily risked a glance back at the boy. He was still glaring at her when he opened his mouth and shouted —_

Lily woke up with a jolt, her body damp with sweat. She was shivering in fear as she recalled the nightmare. She glanced at the clock and saw it was only five o'clock in the morning, so she took a deep breath and buried herself under her blankets before falling asleep again.

_To Be Continued. . . ._

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**There! Chapter four is done! And I know what a lot of you are thinking: "Lily made the Quidditch team as a first year? That's SO Mary Sue." Yeah, I'm glad you think that, but that's not the case, because trust me, Lily ISN'T Mary Sue. At all. Quite the opposite (sorta kinda). Anyway, chapter four is over, so continue read the rest of year one!**


	6. Chapter Five

**Note: I don't own Harry Potter, everything belongs to J.K. Rowling except for Lily, Boston, and the Peters and - you know what, I'm done freaking typing this damn disclaimer. I think it's obvious I don't own Harry Potter because why the hell would I be typing a fanfiction about a story I wrote? Exactly. I've put this disclaimer in most of my chapters so far, so I'm pretty sure we all get the point by now. I don't own Harry Potter. I'm a fifteen-year-old girl who adores the series enough to write a fanfic. The end.**

* * *

Secret Relations

Chapter Five

The next morning Lily, Harry, and Ron sat in the Great Hall at breakfast discussing last night's events. They told her everything in detail, and she picked up on some things that Hermione had failed to mention earlier.

Harry and Lily recalled the grubby package Hagrid had picked up at Gringotts and taken to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possible need such heavy protection.

"It's either really valuable," said Ron.

"Or dangerous," suggested Lily.

"Or both," mused Harry.

But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues.

Neither Neville or Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again.

Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry, Ron, and Lily, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that Harry and Ron saw this as an added bonus, but Lily was thoroughly disappointed that she lost her friend (Hermione was mad at her because Lily still wanted to hang out with Harry and Ron). All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later.

As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by two long, thin packages carried by six screech owls each. Lily was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in the large parcels, and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped the packaged right in front of her and Harry, knocking their food to the floor. They had hardy fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of their parcels.

They ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said:

_DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE._

_It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for you first training session._

_Professor M. McGonagall_

Lily had difficult hiding her glee and both she and Harry handed the note to Ron to read.

"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even _touched _one."

They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomsticks in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it before throwing it back to Harry. He did the same with Lily.

"That's a broomstick," he said, handing it back to Lily with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them."

Ron couldn't resist it.

"They're not any old broomsticks," he said, "they're Nimbus Two Thousands. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" Ron grinned at Harry and Lily. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."

"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped back, "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twin."

Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow.

"Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked.

"Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly.

"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry and Lily. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, you two. And what model is it?"

"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir," said Harry, who looked like he was struggling not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face.

"And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that we've got them," Lily added.

Harry, Lily, and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion.

"Well, it's true," Lily chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase. "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall we wouldn't be on the team. . . ."

"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking the rules?" came an angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry and Lily's hand.

"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry.

"Yes, don't stop now," said Ron, "it was doing us so much good."

Hermione looked at Lily as if expecting her to suddenly become enraged at Ron and Harry, but when she didn't, Hermione marched away with her nose in the air.

They reached the common room and hid their broomsticks before they were off to class. Along the way, Ron started to laugh.

"You know, Lily, I think Malfoy _likes _you," Ron laughed.

"And why do you think that?" Lily asked with obvious disgust in her voice.

"Well, when he took Harry broomstick, he threw it back to him. When he took yours though, he just handed back to you. He's always. . . . Gentle with you. It's creepy."

"That doesn't mean he likes me, Ron, maybe he's just somewhat civilized around girls."

Harry laughed and muttered, "Doubt it."

Both Lily and Ron laughed at this as they walked down the stairs to Potions class.

"All I'm saying is he's always nice to you. I mean, when Professor Flitwick showed up, he didn't bother pointed out that _you_ had a broomstick," Ron shrugged. "Sounded to me like he was trying to protect you."

"Oh, shut up, Ron," Lily snapped. "He's just some stupid boy. As if I would ever consider _liking _someone like him."

"All right, sorry," he muttered as the stepped into Snape's classroom.

Lily took her set and jotted down notes as Snape droned on about Potions, but for once, she wasn't the least bit interested in what Snape had to say. Her mind kept wandering up to the dormitory where her new broomstick was lying under her bed, or straying off to the Quidditch field where she'd be learning to play that night. She bolted her dinner that evening without noticing what she was eating, and then rushed upstairs with Ron and Harry to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand at last. Lily brought her broomstick into Ron and Harry's dorm and their wait was over.

"Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomsticks rolled onto Harry's bed.

Even Lily, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand was written in gold near the top.

As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry and Lily left the castle and set off in the dusk toward the Quidditch field. She'd never been inside the stadium before. Hundred of seats were raised in stands around the field so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the field were three golden poles with hoops on the end. Harry said they reminded him of the little plastic sticks Muggle children blew bubbles through, except they were fifty feet high.

Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Harry and Lily mounted their broomsticks and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling — they swooped in and out of the goalposts and then sped up and down the field, racing each other. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever she wanted at her lightest touch.

"Hey, Potter, Riddle, come down!"

Oliver Wood had arrived. He was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. Harry and Lily landed next to him.

"Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting. "I see what McGonagall meant . . . You really are a natural. I'm just going to teach you two the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week."

He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls.

"Right," said Wood. "Now Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not easy to play. There are seven players on each sigh. Three of them are called Chasers — that's you, Riddle."

"Three Chasers," Harry and Lily repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball.

"This ball's called a Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?"

"The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," they recited.

"So — that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?" guess Harry.

"What's basketball?" said Wood curiously.

"Never mind," said Harry quickly.

"Now, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper — I'm Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring."

"Three Chasers, one Keeper," said Lily.

"And they play the Quaffle," added Harry.

"Okay, got that. So what are they for?" Lily pointed at the three balls left inside the box.

"I'll show you now," said Wood. "Take this."

He handed Harry and Lily a small club, a bit like a short baseball bat.

"I'm going to show you what Bludgers do," Wood said. "These two are the Bludgers."

He showed Harry and Lily two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than the red Quaffle. Lily noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box.

"Stand back," Wood warned them. He bent down and freed one of the Bludgers.

At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at Harry's face. Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it from breaking his nose, and sent it zigzagging away into the air — it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Lily. Lily took the bat and swung with all her might and made contact with the Bludger. It was sent flying towards the school and temporarily out of sight.

"Wow," Oliver muttered. "You've got a good arm. You _would_ make a great Beater."

The sound of glass shattering was heard and Lily looked up and saw the Bludger had broken through one of the school's windows and was heading straight towards her. Wood pushed her out of the way and dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground.

"See?" Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapping it down safely. "The Bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each team — the Weasley twins are ours — it's their job to protect their side from the Bludger and try and knock them toward the other team. So — think you've got all that?"

"Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goalposts —"

"— and the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team," Lily finished.

"Very good," said Wood.

"Er — have the Bludger ever killed anyone?" Harry asked.

"Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that. Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you, Potter. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers —"

"— unless they crack my head open."

"Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers — I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves."

Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball. Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings.

"_This," _said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages — I think the record it three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep.

"Well, that's it — any questions?"

Harry and Lily shook their heads. Lily understood what she had to do all right, it was doing it that was going to be the problem.

"We won't practice with the Snitch yet," said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate, "it's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try you out with a few of these.

He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket and a few minutes later, he, Harry, and Lily were up in the air, Wood and Lily throwing the golf balls as hard as they could in every direction for Harry to catch.

Harry didn't miss a single one, and Wood was delighted. Next Harry and Lily were racing down the field, Harry trying to block Lily, and Lily trying to get the Quaffle past Wood, and to her surprise, she was actually scoring! After an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on.

"That Quidditch Cup'll have our name on it this year," said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle. "I wouldn't be surprised if you turned out better than Charlie Weasley, Potter, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons."

Perhaps it was because she was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all her homework, but Lily could hardly believe it when she realized that she's already been at Hogwarts two months. The castle felt a lot like home to her now. Her lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics.

On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Much to Lily's displeasure, their Charms class was split with the Slytherins, and she had been paired with Malfoy. Ron was paired with Hermione (who still refused to talk to Lily) and Harry was with Seamus (who had finally gotten over that embarrassing moment at dinner two months before).

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too — never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."

Lily tried her best to get the feather to fly, but every time she got herself ready to say the words, Malfoy would distract her and ask a bunch of questions.

"So, how are the Quidditch lessons going?" Malfoy asked casually.

"Fine," Lily replied stiffly.

"Nervous about your first game?"

"No."

"I'm sure you'll —"

"Please stop talking," Lily snapped. Malfoy glared at her, returning back to his grouchy self.

"Stupid girl," he muttered, focusing on their feather.

"Idiotic boy," she retorted.

Lily focused on their feather and said, _"Wingardium Leviosa!"_

There was a sudden flash next her as Seamus' feather burst into flames. A spark flew off and landed on her feather and soon both of their feathers were nothing more than two piles of ashes.

"Nice going, Finnigan!" snapped Malfoy.

"Leave him alone, Malfoy! He didn't mean to," Lily growled.

"He made our feather turn to ash!"

"Like I said, he didn't mean to do it! Now stop being such a jerk! Jeez!" she let out a long sigh and glared at Malfoy, highly annoyed.

"Sorry, Lily," Seamus muttered as they swept the ash into a dust pan.

"It's no problem, Seamus," she laughed, walking to the trash can with him. "Actually, I should probably say thank you. Malfoy is driving me _nuts_."

They returned back to their seats and Lily heard Ron and Hermione talking — more like arguing.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!" _Ron shouted, waving he long arms like a windmill.

"You're saying it wrong," Lily heard Hermione snap. "It's Win-_gar_-dium Levi-_o_-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

"You do it then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.

Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, _"Wingardium Leviosa!"_

Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.

"Oh, well, done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"

Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of the class.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry and Lily as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly."

Someone knocked into Harry and Lily as they hurried past them. It was Hermione. Lily caught a glimpse of her face — and was startled to see that she was in tears.

"Ron!" Lily gasped, punching him hard in the arm.

"Ouch!" Ron exclaimed, grabbing his arm. "Lily! What was that for?"

"You jerk!" she spat before hurrying after Hermione.

Lily followed Hermione to the girls' bathroom where she had locked herself in a stall.

"Hermione," Lily called from the other side of the door. "Hermione, are you okay?"

"Leave me alone!" Hermione yelled, her voice cracking.

Lily glanced at the clock on the wall and saw their next class had already started. She side and leaned against the wall.

"Hermione, please come out."

"I said _leave me alone_!"

"I'm not leaving until you come out."

They spent the entire afternoon in there with Lily trying her best to get Hermione to come out of the stall, but to no avail. At one point Parvati Patil came in but when she saw Lily and heard Hermione crying, she left in a hurry.

Hours passed and still Hermione refused to come out. Looking at the clock, Lily saw the Halloween feast had already started and her stomach growled obnoxiously loud in the middle of dead silence. When she heard this, a small chuckle came from the stall Hermione had locked herself in.

"You're still in here, Lily?" Hermione asked from the stall.

"I told you I wasn't going to leave until you come out," replied Lily.

Silence followed this. Finally, Hermione spoke.

"Why did you stay friends with them? I thought we were friends?" she finally said.

"Harry and Ron are my friends, too, Hermione. I can't just suddenly choose not to be friends with them. I've lived next door to Harry ever since I can remember. He was my first friend, and for a while, my only friend," Lily explained.

"Then why didn't you talk to me?"

"I tried to talk to you, Hermione, but you refused to listen to me."

More silence followed before the stall clicked open and Hermione stepped out, her eyes red and puffy and her cheeks stained with tears.

"I'm sorry, Lily," she said softly.

Lily stood up and she hugged Hermione. "I'm sorry, too."

The door of the girls' bathroom opened and the two girls stopped hugging and turned to check who had walked in. When they saw, both girls froze in their spot.

It was a terrible sight. A twelve foot tall troll, its skin a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut was standing in the bathroom looking at both Hermione and Lily. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.

"Do you see the troll, too?" Lily asked Hermione, who was shrinking back against the wall.

"Yes," she squeaked.

"Splendid," sighed Lily following Hermione's lead.

They pressed against the wall and Hermione looked like she was about to faint.

"Lily, if we live, let's make a promise never to fight again," said Hermione.

"Deal. And if we live, let's make a promise never to hide in the bathroom all day," Lily said.

"Deal."

The door to the bathroom opened again and Harry and Ron ran in. The troll advanced towards Hermione and Lily, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went.

"Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Ron, and, seizing a tap, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.

The troll stopped a few feet from the girls. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.

"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout toward Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around it.

"Come on, run, _run_!" Harry yelled to them, trying to pull Hermione toward the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror. Lily wasn't going to leave Hermione there.

The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.

Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid: He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arm around the troll's neck from behind. The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Harry's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped — it had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils.

Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear like; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club.

Lily stood up and pulled out her wand. _"Wingardium Levio —"_

The troll brought its club toward Lily and hit the right side of her body, sending her crashing into the door of a bathroom stall. Lily slumped to the ground, letting out a groan, her body throbbing. She could tell by the way her body was swimming with pain that something was definitely broken.

"_Lily!" _the three other students exclaimed.

"Don't worry about me!" she replied, trying to ignore the pain. "Ron! Use the spell!"

"Got it!" Ron yelled back. _"Wingardium Leviosa!"_

The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over — and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.

Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had just done.

It was Hermione who spoke first.

"Is it — dead?"

"I don't think so," said Harry, "I think it's just been knocked out."

He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy gray glue.

"Urgh — troll boogers."

He wiped it on the troll's trousers.

"It could've been worse," Ron said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Yeah, you could've been knocked out, or — Lily!"

Hermione ran over to Lily, who was struggling to get up.

"Are you okay, Lily?" Harry asked while he and Ron hurried over.

With Hermione's help, Lily was sitting up at that point.

"Not really. I think something's broken — ouch!"

Hermione had grabbed Lily's right arm.

"Does it hurt?" Ron asked.

"No, she just said 'ouch' because it tickled," Hermione snapped.

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the four of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart.

Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron, Harry, and Lily. Lily had never seen her look so angry.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Lily looked at Harry and Ron who were frozen in place. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look.

Then, a small voice came from beside Lily.

"Please, Professor McGonagall — they were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!"

"I went looking for the troll because I — I thought I could deal with it on my own — you know, because I've read all about them."

Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher?

"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. Lily was protecting me. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off with they arrived."

Harry, Ron, and Lily tried to looked as though this story wasn't new to them.

"Well — in that case . . ." said Professor McGonagall, staring at the four of them. "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"

Hermione hung her head. Lily was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.

"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor Tower. Students are finishing the feast in their Houses."

Hermione left.

Professor McGonagall turned to Harry, Ron, and Lily.

"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."

Harry and Ron stood but Lily just sat there.

"Miss Riddle, I said you may go."

"I know, Professor, but I can't move," Lily said softly.

"What's wrong?" Professor McGonagall asked, pushing past Harry and Ron.

After inspecting Lily briefly she sighed. "I see. You've broken your arm and leg, possibly a rib or two. Well, not to worry, Madam Pomfrey can mend bones easily. But what happened?"

"The troll got me with its club," Lily sighed.

"All right. Well, Potter, Weasley, go to your dorm. Snape, go inform Madam Pomfrey that I will be there soon with Miss Riddle."

"We'll bring you some food, Lily," Harry said before he and Ron left.

Ten minutes later Lily found herself laying on a cot in the hospital wing.

"You're lucky it's just a few broken bones, Miss Riddle," said Madam Pomfrey. "I'll have you healed up in no time — you'll need to stay the night though."

"That's fine," Lily replied while setting into her blankets.

Madam Pomfrey gave her something to drink, and it was quite disgusting, but within five minutes of consuming the vile liquid, the pain in her body subsided and she felt better.

Lily was just about to fall asleep when she heard someone walking towards her.

"Lily. . . . You awake?"

It was Hermione.

"Yeah, I'm awake," Lily said while opening her eyes and sitting up.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were standing there with plates of food and a goblet or two of pumpkin juice.

"We brought food," Harry smiled, handing her a plate.

"Thanks," Lily grinned, taking the plate happily and digging in. "I'm starving."

"Understandable," Ron said, "you were in the bathroom all day."

"Sorry," Hermione said sheepishly.

Lily soon finished all the food and pumpkin juice, her hunger now tamed, and Hermione, Harry, and Ron sat on the end of her bed, the four students happily chatting away, all laughing. They talked about the troll, and how Harry's wand was still slimy with troll boogers. Ron even complimented Hermione on how she lied to Professor McGonagall, but in a hushed voice, of course. After what felt to be only minutes, Madam Pomfrey stepped into the room.

"Okay, it's time for you three to leave," Madam Pomfrey.

Lily glanced at the clock and was surprised to see it was past midnight. Madam Pomfrey never lets visitors stay _that long._

"Thank you for letting us visit Lily, Madam Pomfrey," Hermione said while she and the boys stood up.

"You're very welcome. It's always nice to see the students have visitors. Now, here's a note in case you three are stopped by Filch," said Madam Pomfrey, handing Harry the note.

The three of them left and Lily settled into bed, her stomach full and her mind empty of any negative thoughts. As the day's events began to wear her down, her eyelids became heavy, and soon, she was softly snoring in bed.

From the night on though, Hermione became an official friend of Ron and Harry's, and Lily couldn't be happier. She knew that there were some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll was one of them.

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**Yay! Chapter five is over! What did you guys think? You know what you should do? LEAVE A FREAKING REVIEW! Anyway, chapter five is done and over, so now it's time for chapter six.**


	7. Chapter Six

**So, here's chapter six. And I'm sorry to all of you who are like, "Dusky! Y U POST SO MANY CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY?", but I just wanted to get year one done and over with. Sorry. XD Enjoy chapter six!**

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Secret Relations

Chapter Six

As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy gray and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows defrost broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaverskin boots.

The Quidditch season had begun. Lily would be playing in her first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. If Gryffindor won, they would move into second place in the House Championship.

Hardly anyone had seen Harry and Lily play because Wood decided that, as their secret weapons, they should be kept, well, secret. But the news that Lily was playing Chaser and Harry was playing Seeker had leaked out somehow (Lily suspected Seamus was to blame), and they didn't know which was worse — people telling them they'd be brilliant or people telling them they'd be running around underneath them holding a mattress.

Hermione had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Harry, Ron, and Lily had saved her form the mountain troll, and she was much nicer for it. The day before Harry and Lily's first Quidditch match the four of them were out in the freezing courtyard during break, and Hermione had conjured them up a bright blue fire that could be carried around in a jam jar. They were standing with their backs to it, getting warm, when Snape crossed the yard. Lily noticed at once that Snape was limping. Harry, Ron, Lily, and Hermione moved closer together to block the fire from view; they were sure it wouldn't be allowed. Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Snape's eye. He limped over. He hadn't seen the fire, but he seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway.

"What's that you've got there, Potter?"

It was _Quidditch Through the Ages_. Harry showed him.

"Library books are not to be taken outside the school," said Snape. "Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor."

As Harry handed him the book, Snape looked at Lily.

"Miss Riddle, I would suggest you surround yourself with more . . ." Snape looked the others over with a distasteful look, "_promising _students."

"He's so irritating," Lily said as Snape limped away. "Who's he to suggest who I hang out with?"

"He's just made that rule up," Harry muttered angrily. "Wonder what's wrong with his leg?"

"Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him," said Ron bitterly.

The Gryffindor common room was very noisy that evening. Harry, Ron, Lily, and Hermione sat together next to a window. Hermione and Lily were checking Harry and Ron's Charms homework for them. Hermione forbade Lily to let Harry and Ron copy her answers, so they had to do it the hard way.

Harry stood up and told Ron, Lily, and Hermione he was going to ask Snape for his book back.

"Better you than me," Hermione and Ron said together.

"I'll go with you," Lily said while standing up.

"Thanks," Harry smiled.

Harry and Lily made their way down to the staffroom and knocked. There was no answer. They knocked again. Nothing.

"Perhaps Snape had left the book in there?" Harry suggested.

"It's worth a try," shrugged Lily.

Harry pushed the door ajar and they peered inside — and a horrible scene met their eyes. Snape and Filch were inside, alone. Snape was holding his robes above his knees. One of his legs was bloody and mangled. Filch was handing Snape bandages.

"Blasted thing," Snape was saying. "How are you suppose to keep you eyes on all three heads at once?"

Harry and Lily tried to shut the door quietly, but —

"POTTER! RIDDLE!"

Snape's face was twisted with fury as he dropped his robes quickly to hide his leg. Lily shrunk away from the door.

"I just wondered if I could have my book back," Harry said softly.

"GET OUT! _OUT!_"

They quickly left, before Snape could take any more points from Gryffindor. They sprinted back upstairs.

"Did you get it?" Ron asked as Harry and Lily joined them. "What's the matter."

In a low whisper, the two told Ron and Hermione what they'd seen.

"You know what this means?" Harry finished breathlessly. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween! That's where he was going when we saw him — he's after whatever it's guarding! And I'd bet my broomstick he let the troll in to make a diversion!"

Hermione's eyes were wide.

"No — he wouldn't," she said. "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe."

"Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something," snapped Ron. "I'm with Lily and Harry. I wouldn't put anything past Snape. But what's he after? What's the dog guarding?"

Lily went to bed with her head buzzing with the same questions.

"Lily," Hermione started as they settled into their bed, "do you think Snape's really after whatever the dog is guarding?"

Lily closed her eyes and was silent for a moment before she said, "Honestly, Hermione, I don't know what to think."

The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The Great Hall was fully of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.

"You've got to eat some breakfast."

"I don't want anything."

"Me either."

"Just a bit of toast," wheedled Hermione.

"Neither of us are hungry."

Both Harry and Lily felt terrible. In an hour's time they'd be walking onto the field.

"You guys need your strength, 'specially you, Harry," said Seamus. "Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team. And trust me, Lily, Chasers aren't much safer."

"Thanks, Seamus," said Harry.

"Real comforting," Lily sighed.

By eleven thirty the whole Quidditch team was dressed in their scarlet robes (Slytherin was in green ones) and walking out of the locker room. Lily's knees were violently shaking and her hands were clammy. If it weren't for the gloves she was wearing, she probably would've dropped her broom at least three times as they walked. When they stepped onto the field, Lily was greeted by the deafening cheers of students and teachers alike.

Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.

"Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said, once they were all gathered around her. Lily noticed that she seemed to be speaking particularly to the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, a fifth year. Flint was eyeing Lily in a way that made her squirm uncomfortably. He looked like he was part troll, and he didn't look particularly intelligent.

"Mount your brooms, please."

Lily got on her broom, her heart now racing. She could faintly hear people chanting "Harry! Lily! Harry! Lily!" and she felt a little braver.

Madam Hooch gave a loud black on her silver whistle.

Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the hair. They were off.

Lily drove forward and quickly snatched the Quaffle and immediately sped off down the field towards the Slytherin goalposts.

From all around her came the voice of Lee Jordan as he did the commentary for the game.

"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Lily Riddle of Gryffindor — what an excellent Chaser that girl has turned out to be, and rather attractive, for a first year —"

"JORDAN!"

"Sorry, Professor."

Even though Jordan was allowed to do the commentary, Professor McGonagall though it'd be best to keep a close eye on him.

"And she's really belting along up there."

A Bludger headed straight for Lily's head, but George Weasley sped right next to her and hit it back at the Beater who sent it towards her.

"Gotta watch out for those," George laughed, nudging Lily's arm and speeding off. Alicia Spinnet came up beside her.

"Here, let me have it!" she yelled.

Lily nodded and passed it to Alicia. Then Angelina Johnson sped by.

"Get back towards the Gryffindor goalposts in case Slytherin gets the Quaffle," she said quickly.

"Right!"

Lily quickly flew back towards Wood when she heard Jordan say, " A good pass to Johnson and — no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes!"

Marcus Flint was coming right at Lily, and she gathered all the courage she could muster and headed right at Flint. He only smiled and veered to the side a little. As he passed Lily, he rammed hard into her, causing her broom to shake violently. Lily, who wasn't expecting the impact, fell right off her broom. Thankfully, Fred Weasley caught her after she only fell ten feet.

"Yikes, were not at the top of our game today, are we?" he joked while quickly bringing Lily back up to her broom.

"Hey, back off, it's my first game," she laughed while getting back on her broom.

Jordan's voice filled Lily's ears.

"Flint's going to sc — no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindor Chaser Angelina Johnson takes the Quaffle!"

"Riddle!" someone shouted.

Lily turned just in time to see Angelina chuck the Quaffle at her. Lily caught it and sped off in the direction of the Slytherin goalposts once again. As she flew, two Slytherin Chasers — Marcus Flint and Adrian Pucey — got on either side of her and were slowly closing in. It was getting extremely hard to fly.

"Oy! Incoming!" the Weasley twins shouted suddenly from above the three Chasers. Lily looked up and saw them hit two Bludgers right at the Flint and Pucey.

The two Slytherin Chasers peeled away from Lily as the Bludgers belted towards them, and this allowed Lily to speed up. She brought herself closer to her broom handle, pushing her broom to go faster. The Slytherin Keeper, Bletchley, was waiting for her. Lily lifted her arm and pitched the Quaffle towards the goalpost to the far left, and Bletchley dove for it and — he missed. The Quaffle went through.

The crowd began cheering wildly and Jordan bellowed, "GRYFFINDOR SCORES!"

For a moment, Lily celebrated by pumping her fists into the air, but the celebration was cut short when Lily took a Bludger to the face.

When Lily finally woke up, her head was spinning and her mouth was extremely sore. She was among the familiar surroundings of the hospital wing. In a chair beside her was a sleeping Seamus, whom Lily was surprised to see. As she looked around, she saw three chairs stationed around the foot of her bed but they were empty. According to the clock on the wall, it was six thirty at night, which meant it was supper time. Lily tried to open her mouth so she could wake Seamus, but her mouth refused to open. It was stuck. Just as panic was about to set in, Madam Pomfrey appeared.

"Don't worry, Lily," she said in a soothing voice. She had a small dry erase board in her hand, along with a box of different color dry erase markers.

"Your jaw has been forced shut with a spell until it had fully healed. That Bludger shattered your jaw into tiny shards of bone. It was a miracle I was able to mend it, honestly."

Lily pointed to the board and markers.

"They're are so you can still communicate with people."

She handed the board and markers to Lily. She pulled out a green marker and wrote down: _What is Seamus doing here?_

"He's been here everyday since the match."

_What day is it?_

"Tuesday."

Lily's eyes widened. The Quidditch match hand been on a Saturday, which meant three days had already passed.

_What's with the three chairs at the end of the bed?_

"Harry, Ron, and Hermione are always here, too, but their hunger got the best of them."

_Should I wake up Seamus?_

"The others tried waking him, but he insisted on staying here, in case you were to wake up."

There was a stirring beside her bed and Lily looked, only to see Seamus was up. When he saw she was awake, relief flooded his face.

"You're up," he smiled.

Lily nodded.

"How are you?"

She wrote, _I've been better._

Seamus laughed. "I suppose I would feel like that, too."

_What happened after I was hit with a Bludger?_

"Oh, well, Fred and George were really mad that you were hit with the Bludger, so they both hit Bludgers at the Beater who hit you. Needless to say, Gryffindor got in a bit of trouble for that, but we still won. Harry caught the Snitch by practically swallowing it."

Then Harry, Ron, and Hermione came back with two plates of food. They handed one to Madam Pomfrey and one to Seamus. Madam Pomfrey disappeared into a side room and there was the sound of a blender, and she returned with, not a plate, but a cup full of some repulsive brown gunk.

"Well, drink up," she said, holding the glass out to Lily and putting a straw into the cup.

Lily hesitantly took the glass and hastily scribbled something on the board.

_Bottoms up._

And she drank it.

The next few weeks went by relatively quick, and soon enough, Lily's jaw was free to move however she wanted. Potions class had been torturous without the use of her mouth because she could never scribble down the answers to Snape's questions before a Slytherin would answer it.

As Christmas neared, the buzz of holiday plans became annoyingly loud. Lily, whom had grown weary of the chatted, was signed up to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays. She was trying to pick gifts out for Harry and Ron, since she had already ordered Hermione and Seamus' from a well known wizard catalogue.

Boston visited much more often, usually bearing letters from Mr. and Mrs. Peter. Both had been horrified and Lily revealed all the times she had been hospitalized, and Mr. Peter told Lily that Mrs. Peter practically fainted when she read about the troll. When she told them about her and Harry making the Quidditch team, they were very proud, and they even sent Harry a congratulatory letter.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had informed Lily of the new information about whatever the three-headed dog — who, as they found out, was named Fluffy — was guarding. According to what Hagrid said, some guy named Nicolas Flamel was involved. Hermione decided that they needed to start looking for clues as to who he might be.

It was the day before everyone left for the holidays. Hermione and Seamus were both leaving for Christmas, but Harry, Ron, and the rest of the Weasleys were staying at Hogwarts for the holidays, so Lily wasn't going to be alone during Christmas.

At breakfast that morning, Lily and Seamus were happily chatting away with Fred and George, who sat across from them, when a loud voice disturbed everyone's conversations.

"WHAT THE HELL? SO IT'S THEIR FAULT I'M LIKE THIS?"

The shouting was coming from a Ravenclaw third year with shoulder length black hair. She also had cat ears and a tail, and she was sitting directly behind the twins.

Fred turned around to face the girl. "What's wrong, pretty kitty?"

Very slowly did the girl turn around. Through clenched teeth she said to the twins. "I'm going . . . to _kill_ you."

George shrunk in his seat, terror written on his face. "That's not a kitty. That's a lion!"

The girl stood and took a step forward; George flinched.

"What the hell was in that chocolate that made me like this?"

George jumped to his feet and ran out of the Great Hall yelling, "RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!"

The girl watched George disappear before looking at Fred. "What was in it?"

Fred chuckled as he got to his feet, "I do not remember, but maybe, just maybe, something will jog my memory."

"What is that something?"

"Oh, I think you know," was all he said before leaving the Great Hall, a smirk on his face.

Lily looked at Seamus, who just shrugged. Well, it was the Weasley twins. Who _knew_ what Fred and George could've done to her.

"Come on, Lily," Hermione said suddenly, "we can't be wasting our time."

Hermione pushed the other three into the library and Lily began looking around, but the feeling that she had seen the name Nicolas Flamel was nagging at her. Where had she seen the name? After getting hit in the face by that Bludger, her thoughts had been a little scattered. As she sifted through the mounds of books, suffocating herself in dust more than once, Lily found nothing that could be of any use. By the end of the day, she had found nothing, so she and Harry waited for Ron and Hermione to finish their search.

Give minutes later, Ron and Hermione joined them, shaking their heads. They went off to lunch.

"You will keep looking while I'm away, won't you?" said Hermione. "And send me an owl if you find anything."

"And you could ask your parents to see if the know who Flamel is," said Ron. "It'd be safe to ask them."

"Very safe, as they're both dentists," said Hermione.

Once the holidays had started, Ron, Harry, and Lily were having too good a time to think much about Flamel. They had the dormitory to themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual, so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire. They sat by the hour eating anything they could spear on a toasting fork — bread, English muffins, marshmallows — and plotting ways of getting Malfoy expelled, which were fun to talk about even if they didn't work.

While Ron taught Harry how to play wizards chess, Lily was spending time in Snape's classroom, working on different potions. She was surprised when Snape offered to let her work in his room, considering how bitter he usually was, but she happily agreed. In fact, she had done many of potions, and she practically finished all the possible potions in the book. Even Snape was impressed.

Christmas Eve came and Lily went to sleep in her empty dorm, her only company being Boston, who made a nest with a blanket in one of the other beds. Lily was hoping for a peaceful dream, but instead she received a nightmare.

_Lily was trapped in a room with two exits, each door blocked by flames. The door behind her had purple flames guarding it, and the other was protected by black flames. There was a table in the middle of the room, and on it were seven differently shaped bottles, five of which were full, but two small vials were empty. The sound of Harry yelling was heard from behind the door guarded by black flames. Lily tried to run to the door, past the flames, but the fire grew larger and licked the skin of her hand. She quickly withdrew her hand and saw it was burned, the flesh so badly mangled that the bone was visible. Then a figure emerged from the flames, causing Lily to stumble back. She stared up at the figure and saw Professor Quirrell looking down at her, and she noticed his turban had gone missing. Fear suddenly came over her and she scrambled towards the other door, but was stopped when she saw the wall of purple flames was still there, blocking her way. She whipped around and saw Quirrell was towering over her. He slowly turned around and showered her the back of his head. There, there should have a back to his head, was a —_

Lily woke up screaming. Boston, frightened by the sudden outburst, began shrieking. Quickly, Lily calmed him and looked at the clock; it was eight o'clock in the morning. Feeling hungry, Lily walked towards the door and tripped over something. She sat up and looked behind her, trying to figure out what tripped her. That's when she saw eight gifts piled neatly at the foot of her bed.

"It's Christmas!" she exclaimed as she remembered the date.

Hastily stacking all her presents in a blanket and carrying it like a sack, Lily ran to Ron and Harry's room and found they had just discovered their own gifts.

"Merry Christmas!" she exclaimed while placing her gifts on one of the beds. Seeing as how messy the bed was, Lily assumed it was Seamus'.

"Lily!" yelled Ron, his face beet red. "You shouldn't be in here! This is the _boy's_ dorm!"

"Oh, like it matters! No one else is here!"

They began to open up presents. From Hermione, Lily received a books of potions for more advanced students, along with ingredients she had never even heard of (she was extremely pleased with this gift). Seamus gave Lily a large pack of Chocolate Frogs (she had mentioned they were her favorite). Hagrid gave her a book full of information on magical creatures, and Harry and Ron got her lots of candy. From Mrs. Weasley, Lily got a purple knitted sweater, and Harry did too, but his was green. Ron let out a groan.

"Every year she makes us a sweater," said Ron, unwrapping his own, "and mine's always maroon."

"That's really nice of her," said Harry, trying a piece of fudge. Lily found a box of fudge from Mrs. Weasley and tried some, and she found it was very tasty.

Lily's next gift was from Mr. and Mrs. Peter. They sent her a small figurine of a Gryffindor lion, which came to life at the sound of Lily's voice. To turn it back into a statue, all she needed to saw was 'good night'. Mr. and Mrs. Peter gave both Harry and Ron a Gryffindor lion statue like Lily's, and their lions responded to their own voices.

"These are so cool!" Ron said as his lion ran across the bed.

"I've never seen these," Harry said while petting his lion.

"I think Mrs. Peter made them," Lily replied while letting her lion run freely around the room, "she's really good with charms."

They continued to open presents, and the next one Lily opened was from, surprisingly, Malfoy.

"I wouldn't open that if I were you," said Ron, "probably a stink bomb or something."

"Yeah, probably," shrugged Lily, but still she opened it. Inside was a box of Chocolate Frogs. "How's he know I love these?"

"I dunno, he's a creepy guy. I'm sure he has his creepy ways of getting information," muttered Ron.

Lily laughed, but only half heartedly. She thought it was actually kind of . . . nice for Malfoy to do something like that, but still, Lily refused to forget how mean he always was to Harry.

Then it came time for her next, and last, present. It was very tiny and when Lily unwrapped it, she was shown a black box. She opened the box and inside was a note. Written quickly in small black letters were the following words:

_This belonged to your family._

_It's yours now._

_Take care of it._

_And remember:_

_NEVER GIVE IT AWAY._

Lily moved the note and underneath was a ring. It had a gold band and black stone shaped into a square. A strange mark was scratched into it, and to Lily, it looked like a coat of arms. She slipped it on to her left ring finger and admired its beauty shortly before Ron's voice filled the room.

"I've heard of those," he said in a hushed voice, dropping the box of Every Flavor Beans he'd gotten from Hermione. "If that's what I think it is — they're really rare, and really valuable."

Ron was talking to Harry, who was looking at a fluid and silvery gray cloak.

"What is it?"

"It's an Invisibility Cloak," Ron and Lily said in unison.

"I'm sure it is — try it on," said Ron, a look of awe on his face.

Harry threw the Cloak around his shoulders and Ron gave a yell. Harry's body was gone, and all that was left was his head, which was suspended in midair.

"It is! Look down!"

Harry went to the mirror and looked at his reflection before putting the Cloak over his head and he vanished completely.

"There's a note!" said Ron suddenly. "A note fell out of it!"

Harry pulled the Cloak off and began reading the note. After a moment he folded it up and Lily began wondering what it said.

"I'd give _anything_ for one of these," he said. "_Anything_. What's the matter?"

"Nothing," said Harry. By the look on his face though, Lily knew something was wrong.

Before she could say another word, the dormitory door was flung open and Fred and George bounded in.

"Merry Christmas — hey, what is Lily doing in here?" said Fred.

"We opened presents together," said Ron.

"Yeah, sure, you 'opened presents together'," said George with a wink.

"We did!" Ron protested.

"Hey, look — Lily and Harry both got a Weasley sweater, too!" the twins said together.

Fred and George were wearing blue sweaters, one with a large yellow F on it, and the other a G.

"Their's are better than ours, though," said Fred while holding up Harry's sweater. George picked up Lily's. "She obviously makes more an effort if you're not family."

"Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George demanded. "Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm."

"I hate maroon," Ron moaned half heartedly as he pulled it over his head.

"You two haven't got a letter on yours," George observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your names. But we're not stupid — we know we're called Gred and Forge."

"What's all this noise?"

Percy Weasley stuck his head through the door, looking disapproving. He had clearly gotten halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy sweater over his arm, which Fred seized.

"P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Harry and Lily got one."

"I — don't — want —" said Percy thickly as the twins forced the sweater over his head, knocking his glasses askew.

"And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either," said George. "Christmas is a time for family."

They frog-marched Percy from the room, his arms pinned to his side by his sweater.

Lily had never in all her life seen such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tareens of buttered peas; silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce — and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. Lily pulled a wizard cracker with George, and it went off like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear admiral's hat and several live, white mice. Up at the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.

Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver Sickle embedded in his slice. Harry sat next to Lily and she watched Hagrid getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who, to Lily's amazement, giggled and blushed, her top hat lopsided.

Lily finished eating and she, Harry, and the Weasleys spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight on the grounds. Then, cold, wet, and gasping for breath, they returned to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, where Lily watched Harry and Ron play wizard's chess while she snacked on Chocolate Frogs.

After a meal of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit and watch Percy chase Fred and George all over Gryffindor Tower because they'd stolen his prefect badge.

Lily rose from the comfy armchair and dragged herself up the stairs to her dormitory. When she got in the room, she went to bed, hoping to have a restful night. She was wrong.

_Lily was somewhere dark, so dark that she could barely make out the trees around her. The ground beneath her feet was soft and moist (she was barefoot for some reason). As she walked through the forest, looking for the exit, she slipped and landed in a puddle of a silver liquid. Lily looked around trying to figure out where the slippery substance was coming from. That's when she saw it: laying on the ground, the life drained from its like its blood, was a unicorn. It was breathtakingly beautiful, even in death. Lily had just reached out to touch its horn when a cloaked figure appeared and began feasting on the creature's blood, seeming completely oblivious to Lily. It wasn't until she let out a small cry in fear that the figure seemed to actknowledge her. The cloaked figure rose to their feet and neared Lily._

"_Lily," it hissed as it approached her, "Lily!"_

"_Leave me alone!" said Lily frantically, flailing her arms and legs._

"_Lily!" it moaned._

"_Leave me alone!" she was crying now. The figure reached out and grabbed her shoulders before they proceeded to shake her. Lily clenched her eyes shut._

"_Lily!"_

"_Go away!" she shrieked._

"Lily! Wake up!"

Lily slowly opened her eyes and found Harry above her, hands on her shoulders. She could feel her cheeks were damp with tears that she must've shed while she dreamt.

"Harry?" she whispered, her voice hoarse and her throat sore. "Was I screaming?"

"Yeah, you were," he replied. Well, that explained her voice and throat. "Bad dream?"

"The worst," she sighed.

"Well, I found something that might cheer you up."

Harry told Lily all about the mirror. He said he wanted to show her first before anyone else. She agreed and the two of them snuck out under the cover of Harry's Invisibility Cloak. It took half an hour to reach the mirror because Harry was having a little trouble remembering exactly the way he went, but when they reached the room in which the mirror stood, Lily was struck silent. The dream she had weeks ago had shown her a mirror. _This mirror._

"Well. . . . What do you think?" Harry asked and it was obvious he was excited.

"It's quite spectacular," Lily said, trying to sound sincere. It seemed to work because Harry was smiling.

"Okay, now look into it," he said, pushing her towards the mirror.

Lily looked at her reflection and saw she wasn't alone. But it wasn't her parents standing with her, even though Harry said they would. Three people stood with her, and she recognized two of them — Professor Quirrell. Next was a boy with pale skin, jet black hair, and dark eyes. He looked a lot like Lily, and she remembered he had been in the dream with the mirror. She was expecting him to glare at her, but instead he was smiling, fiddling with a ring on his left hand. Lily took a closer look and realized it was the same ring she had received earlier that day. It signified he was family, but who was he?

The last figure was yet another man. This man was creepier. He wore a black cloak and had extremely pale skin. He had no apparent nose, just two slits, and had red eyes. Lily thought he looked like a snake. Either way, Lily had no idea why they appeared to her.

Harry said that the mirror showed people who were dead, but Quirrell wasn't dead. And Lily wasn't aware of who the other two were. So, when Harry asked her what she saw, Lily quite plainly told him, "Nothing."

The next day Lily spent in the library, trying to find something that might help her figure out who the boy with the ring was. Nothing had offered the slightest clue as to who he may be, and by lunch, Lily was growing quite weary.

She decided to take a break and head to lunch, and along the way she cut through the trophy room and saw a picture that caught her eye. It was the boy from the mirror and dream, and underneath the picture in tiny letters was printed _Tom M. Riddle_.

"Your name is Tom," Lily whispered before running to the Great Hall.

That night Harry invited Lily to join him and Ron at the mirror, but Lily declined, promising to go with him tomorrow. She went to her dorm and sat down on her bed, looking through a library book she had checked out after lunch. Lily was eating some Chocolate Frogs since she had a large stash now. The book was an old year book from the year Ton had graduated.

"Riddle. . . . Riddle. . . . Riddle. . . ." Lily was looking for Riddle, and when she finally got to the R's, she saw the page was missing. Someone must've ripped it out. Thoroughly disappointed, Lily slammed the book shut, sending dust everywhere. She settled down under the covers, her mind now trying to figure out who ripped out the page and why?

But when she found no answer, Lily finally fell asleep and, for the first time in days, she didn't have a nightmare.

The next night, Lily met Harry in the common room and, with the use of the Invisibility Cloak, they were off, Harry taking the lead. They found their way quickly, but also making much more noise than Lily would've like. But, all the same, they met no one along the way.

Once in the room, Lily watched Harry place himself in front of the seemed to be in some kind of trance, and Lily knew there was nothing to stop him from staying here all night with his family. Nothing at all.

Except —

"So — back again, Harry? I see you brought Lily this time."

Lily froze and looked at the back of the classroom. Sitting on the one of the desks against the wall was Albus Dumbledore. They must've walked straight past him, so desperate to get to the mirror they hadn't noticed him.

"We — we didn't see you, sir," Lily stammered.

"Strong how nearsighted being invisible came make you," said Dumbledore. Thankfully, he was smiling as he said this.

"So," said Dumblefore, slipping off the desk to sit on the floor with Harry. He motioned for Lily to sit next to him. She quickly sat down next to him. "You two, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."

"I didn't know it was called that, sir," said Harry.

"But I expect you've realized by now what it does?"

"It — well — it shows me my family —"

"And it showed your friend Ron himself as Head Boy."

Lily didn't dare mention what she saw.

"How did you know —?" asked Harry.

"I don't need a cloak to become invisible," said Dumbledore gently. "Now, can you think what the Mirror of Erised showed us all?"

Harry shooked his head and Lily remained silent.

"Let me explain. The happiest man on the earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?"

Harry slowly said, "It shows us what we want . . . whatever we want."

"Yes and no," said Dumbledore quietly. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them. However, this mirror will give us neither knownledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing it what it shows is real of even possible.

"The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, you two, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever _do _run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now why don't you two put that admirable Cloak back on and get off to bed?"

Harry and Lily stood up.

"Sir — Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?" Harry asked.

"Obviously, you've just done so," Dumbledore smiled. "You may ask me one more thing, however."

"What do you see when you look in the mirror?"

"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."

Harry and Lily stared.

"One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books."

Harry turned to leave but stopped.

"I have one more question."

"And what's that?"

"Well, the first night we came here, Lily looked in the Mirror, but she didn't see anything. She's been through the same thing as me — our parents were murdered. I mean, I know Mr. and Mrs. Peter are _like_ her parents, but she can't be the happiest person in the world."

Dumbledore was silent. "What's your question?"

"Why doesn't it work for Lily?"

"Harry. . . . Why don't you go to bed and let me talk to Lily."

Harry hesitated.

"Don't worry, I'll lead her back to the common room."

And with that, Harry left,

Lily looked at Dumbledore, wondering why he wanted to talk to her.

"Lily," Dumbledore finally said, "come here. Stand in front of the Mirror."

She did as she was instructed. Dumbledore moved away from the Mirror and like before, she was accompanied by Quirrell, Tom, and the snake man. At the sight of Tom, Lily found herself smiling at her relative. Tom smiled back, and once again began fiddling with his ring. In turn, Lily began twisting her own ring.

"Ah, so you _do_ see something," Dumbledore chuckled. Lily jumped; she'd forgotten about Dumbledore.

"Please, Lily, tell me — what do you see?"

"I see — I see Quirrell, and a boy from my family and — and a man I don't know," Lily said slowly.

"Do you know the boy? Is it your father?"

"No, I just know he's family — his name is Tom."

Dumbledore was silent for a long time.

"What's your deepest desire, Lily?" said Dumbledore.

"Well . . . I want to face the man who killed my parents. Obviously this mirror isn't working too well. Why would it show Quirrell?"

"Yes, that must be it," Dumbledore muttered. "Well, time to go!"

He led Lily back to the common room and she went off to bed. As she settled under the covers, she began thinking about Quirrell. He had never _hurt_ her, so why would he appear to her? Not having any theories, Lily quickly fell asleep.

* * *

**Soooooo, what do you guys think? So far so good? Well, I freaking hope so! Because I'm freaking proud of my story! Anyway, year one is almost over, so you should LEAVE A REVIEW! That is all. Thank you for your time and keep reading!**


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter seven! After this chapter, there's only one more and then year one is over T^T ("Oh no!"). But don't fret! We still have years two, three, four, five, six, and seven to go through after this! And I've already written out year two (I just need to type it. . . . Crap). Anyway, enjoy!**

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Secret Relations

Chapter Seven

Seamus and Hermione returned the day before term started. Seamus was very happy to see Lily, telling her how boring his Christmas had been. Hermione, however, was mortified when she found out Lily, Harry, and Ron had been roaming the school at night, and she was disappointed that they hadn't found out anything about Nicolas Flamel.

They had almost given up hope of ever finding Flamel in a library book. Once term had started, they were back to skimming through books for ten minutes during their breaks. Harry and Lily had even less time than the other two, because Quidditch practice had started again.

Wood was working the team harder than ever. Even the endless rain that had replaced the snow couldn't damped his spirits. The Weasleys complained that Wood was becoming a fanatic, but Lily was on Wood's side. If they won their next match, against Hufflepuff, they would overtake Slytherin in the House Championship for the first time in seven years. Quite apart from wanting to win, Lily found that she had fewer nightmares when she was tired out after training.

Then, during one particularly wet and muddy practice session, Wood gave the team a bit of bad news. He'd just gotten very angry with the Weasleys, who kept dive-bombing each other and pretending to fall off their brooms.

"Will you stop messing around!" he yelled. "That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time, and he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"

George really did fall off his broom at these words. Lily dove and caught him, his face only inches from a giant mud puddle. Fred brought him his broom and Lily placed him on his feet.

"Thanks," George said. He looked at Wood. "_Snape's_ refereeing?"

Lily landed next to George to protest.

"Since when has he ever refereed a Quidditch match? He's not going to be fait if we might overtake Slytherin!"

The rest of the team landed next to them to complain too.

"It's not _my_ fault," said Wood. "We've just got to make sure we play a clean game, so Snape hasn't got an excuse to pick on us."

The rest of the team hung back to talk to one another as usual at the end of practice, but Harry and Lily headed straight back to the Gryffindor common room, where they found Ron and Hermione playing chess. Chess was the only thing Hermione ever lost at, something Harry, Ron, and Lily thought was very good for her.

When Lily sat down next to Hermione, it wasn't long before Seamus found her.

"Hey, Lily!" Seamus said.

"Hi, Seamus," said Lily. She was extremely tired, but she tried to seem happy.

"How's practice going?"

"Cold, wet, muddy, and tiring."

"I can see that — you're filthy!"

"Thanks, Seamus," Lily said sarcastically.

"Ah, sorry, bad choice of words. . . . Um, when's the big game?" he asked, his face bright red.

"In two weeks," she said, smiling at his embarrassment.

"Good to know. I'll be there! Well, I better go start on the homework Snape gave us. Talk to you later."

Lily turned back to the others, who were discussing ways for Harry to get out of the match.

"He can't," Lily butted in. "There isn't a reserve Seeker. If he backs out, Gryffindor can't play at all."

At that moment Neville toppled into the common room. How he managed to climb through the portrait hole was anyone's guess, because his legs had been stuck together with what they recognized at once as the Leg-Locker Curse. He must have had to bunny hop all the way up to the Gryffindor Tower. Everyone fell over laughing except for Lily and Hermione. Hermione leapt up and performed the countercurse. Neville's legs sprang apart and he got to his feet, trembling.

"What happened?" Hermione asked him, leading him over to sit with Harry, Ron, and Lily.

"Malfoy," said Neville shakily. "I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice that on."

Lily began fiddling with the ring on her finger when she suddenly vanished.

Lily came to in some other place. She was at a house, the front door, which was made of glass, lay shattered at her feet. She caught her reflection in a mirror hanging on the wall. She appeared to be herself, but for some reason she felt. . . . Different.

"Oh, Harry," she sang involuntarily in a voice that wasn't hers. "I've come for a visit!"

The sound of a car starting reached her ears and she stormed outside and watched as a charmed Muggle car flew into the air. Lily lifted her wand and, without saying a word, shot the car, causing it to blow up. A woman fell to the ground, clutching something in her arms. The woman turned and watched the remains of the car crash to the ground.

"Harry," she whispered. "Harry!"

Lily laughed. "Well. . . . Isn't it nice to see you, Rachel."

"Tom," the woman said stiffly. Lily had no idea why, but she was suddenly enraged, and she marched up to the woman and seized her by the neck.

"Don't — Call — Me — That," she spat. Lily's attention was drawn to the bundle being held in the woman's arms. It was a baby. "Oh . . . is this your child? Her name is Lily, correct?"

"Don't you dare touch her," the woman growled.

Lily ignored the woman's warning and took the baby in one of her arms and let the woman fall to the ground as she took her wand in her free hand. The woman glared at Lily as she drew her own wand.

"Why you —"

"Avada Kedavra!" Lily shouted. A green light consumed the woman and slammed her into a tree. She was dead. The man in the car was dead. But their child was alive.

Lily suddenly reappeared with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They acted as if she hadn't left. Perhaps she hadn't.

Harry . . . Rachel. . . .

Those two names were practically screaming in her head. That's when they registered: Her parents. She just watched her parents die. But Tom? Tom who? Tom Riddle, maybe?

"I need to go," Lily said while standing up.

"What? We're just about to find out who Nicolas Flamel is and you're leaving?" Hermione asked in a very hushed tone.

"Leave me alone, Hermione!" Lily snapped.

Hermione looked shocked and Lily stormed out of the common room. She still had an hour before they had to be in bed, so she headed toward Professor McGonagall's classroom. Thankfully, Professor McGonagall was still in there, so Lily tentatively walked in.

"Um. . . . Excuse me? Professor McGonagall?" Lily said softly.

McGonagall jumped slightly and looked up. "Miss Riddle? What are you doing out of your dormitory? It's almost time for bed."

"I know, Professor, but I need to see Dumbledore."

"And why's that?"

"It's about my parents."

"Well, Miss Riddle, I can assure he had far pressing matters to deal with. Now, why don't you —"

"It's about the night they died."

"Miss Riddle, we've told you all we know. Now, as I was saying, why don't you —"

"I want to know about Tom Riddle!" Lily yelled.

Silence fell over them as Professor McGonagall studied her. Finally, she put her quill down and stood up.

"Follow me," she said, stepping out from behind her desk.

They marched in silence for a few minutes before coming to a stop in front of a large and extremely ugly stone gargoyle.

"Lemon drop!" said McGonagall. This was evidently a password, because the gargoyle sprang suddenly to life and hopped aside as the wall behind him split in two. Behind the wall was a spiral staircase that was moving smoothly upward, like an escalator. As Lily and McGonagall stepped on it, the wall shut behind them. They rose upward in circles, higher and higher, until at last, slightly dizzy, Lily saw a gleaming oak door ahead with a brass knocker in the shape of a griffin.

They stepped off the stone staircase at the top, and Professor McGonagall rapped on the door. It opened silently and they entered. Professor McGonagall told Lily to wait and left her there, alone.

Lily looked around. It was a large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. A number of curious silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were snoozing gently in their frames. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and, sitting on a shelf behind it, a shabby, tattered wizard's hat — the Sorting Hat.

Resisting the urge to try it on, Lily turned around and found she wasn't alone. Sitting on a golden perch, a crimson bird the size of a swan was watching Lily. It had a glittering golden tail as long as a peacock's and gleaming golden talons with a long golden beak.

"A phoenix," Lily murmured as she recalled the illustration from the book Hagrid had given her.

Lily held out her hand to the phoenix and it nuzzled her. She smiled and continued petting the creature until a soft chuckle made her jump. She turned and saw Professor Dumbledore.

"I've seen you've found Fawkes," said Dumbledore. Lily nodded.

"I've read about them in my book from Hagrid."

"Well, it seems as if he likes you."

That seemed true enough; Fawkes wasn't the least bit upset about Lily petting him.

"Now, tell me why you are here," Dumbledore instructed.

"Well, sir, you see, I want to know . . . who is Tom Riddle?"

Dumbledore looked very surprised when she said his name.

"Sit down, Lily," he said and, with a snap of his fingers, a plush armchair appeared next to Lily and she settled into it and he said in the high chair behind his desk.

"Now," he started, "tell me — what do you know about Tom Riddle?"

"Well, I know he's part of my family, and that he went to Hogwarts — I saw his picture in the trophy room," said Lily.

"Is that _all_ you know?"

Lily was silent. That was all she knew for a fact, but she did have a theory. She was wondering if she should ask. . . .

"I . . . I think he might have . . . killed mine and Harry's parents."

Dumbledore's face grew solemn. He studied Lily's face and she began to wonder if she had said something she wasn't suppose to. He eventually said, "Yes and no. The man who killed your parents called himself Voldemort. Though, many years before that, he was Tom Riddle.

"But of what relation is he to me?"

"That, Lily, will be revealed over time. Now, it's getting late, so you best head off to bed."

"But Professor Dumbledore —"

"Good night, Lily."

Lily didn't say any more as she left.

The next two weeks flew by and Harry, Ron, Lily, and Hermione had a hunch about what Fluffy was guarding: the Sorcerer's Stone. But Harry and Lily didn't have much time to focus on that, because they were soon in the locker room, and Lily was in the locker room, looking out at the crowd to see who had shown up for the game. Everyone was there!

Even —

"Dumbledore!" Lily exclaimed when she spotted his silver beard. There was no mistaking it. "Look! Harry! Dumbledore's here!"

"_Dumbledore?" _he said, dashing to the door to make sure.

Lily nudged his arm and said quietly, "There's no way Snape'll try anything — not with Dumbledore here!"

Harry was so happy that he hugged Lily, which earned a large amount of teasing from Fred and George.

"Look at the cute couple!" sand Fred. Harry blushed and quickly let go.

"Oh, please, Fred, we all know Lily and Seamus will be together before their second year," laughed George. Now it was Lily's turn to blush.

"Okay, enough gossip, you two," said Wood. "Alright, get ready! We're going out onto the field.

As the team walked onto the field, Lily noticed how made Snape looked, so it was no surprised that two minutes into the game, Gryffindor had been fouled three times. Thankfully, after their sixth foul, Harry caught the Snitch five minutes into the game, not only making it the shortest game in the school's history, but also winning the game and putting Gryffindor in first place for the House Championship.

The team went to the common room, but Lily, Ron, and Hermione hung back and waited for Harry, who had vanished after the game. Twenty minutes later, when he finally showed up, he looked worried.

"Harry, where have you _been_?" Hermione squeaked.

"We won! You won! We won!" shouted Ron, thumping Harry on the back. "And I gave Malfoy a black eye, and Neville tried to take on Crabbe and Goyle single handed! He's still out could but Madam Pomfrey says he'll be all right — talk about showing Slytherin! Everyone's waiting for you in the common room, we're having a party, Fred and George stole some cake and stuff from the kitchens."

Lily could tell by Harry's facial expression that he wasn't interested in that news.

"Never mind that now," said Harry breathlessly. "Let's find and empty room, you wait 'til you hear this."

He made sure Peeves wasn't inside before shutting the door behind them, then he told them what he's seen and heard.

"So we were right, it _is_ the Sorcerer's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it. He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy — and he said something about Quirrell's 'hocuspocus' — I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through —"

"So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" said Hermione in alarm.

"If that's the case, we're doomed," Lily moaned.

"It's be gone by next Tuesday," said Ron.

However, weeks went by and Quirrell appeared the same and Snape was as grouchy as ever. Everything was actually calm, and Lily was able to spend a lot more time with Seamus, who she had been blowing off lately to hang out with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

She and Seamus had been in the common room, quizzing each other for exams. They were currently studying for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"What does Flipendo do?" Lily asked Seamus. He paused.

"Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue," he finally sighed.

"_Seamus," _Lily groaned, "we've gone over this! Flipendo is used to push or topple something!"

"I _know _we've gone over this, Lily, but there's so much to learn! These exams will be the death of me! Who could handle all this?"

_Try being in my shoes_, Lily thought. She, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been worrying about Quirrell, Snape, and the Stone ever since the Quidditch match with Hufflepuff, so add that to exams, they were juggling quite a lot.

"I know, Seamus, but we have to pass all our exams in order to come back next year," she told him.

Seamus sighed and was about to say something else when Harry ran into the common room, panting.

"Lily," he gasped, "we need to get to Hagrid's. . . . Now."

"What about Ron and Hermione?" she said,

"They're waiting outside the portrait. Let's go."

Lily looked at and Seamus and saw he was frowning.

"Seamus —"

But he cut her off.

"It's fine, Lily. I'll see you later."

She hesitated but eventually stood up and walked through the entrance with Harry.

"What was so important?" she asked the others.

"We think Hagrid has a dragon."

When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut moments later, they were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed. Hagrid called "Who is it?" before he let them in, and then shut the door quickly behind them.

It was stifling hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate. Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiched, which they refused.

"So — yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"

"Yes," said Harry. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Sorcerer's Stone apart from Fluffy."

Hagrid frowned at him.

"O' course I can't," he said. "Number one, I don't know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts — I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all. Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

"Oh, come on Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here," said Hermione. Hagrid smiled. "We only wondered who _done_ the guarding, really. We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."

Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words.

"Well, I don' s'ppose it could hurt ter tell yeh that . . . let's see . . . he borrowed Fluffy from me . . . Then some o' the teachers did enchantments. . . . Professor Sprout — Professor Flitwick — Professor McGonagall —" he ticked them off on his fingers, " Professor Quirrell — an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."

"_Snape?"_

"Yeah — yer not still on about that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped _protect_ the Stone, he's not about to steal it."

Lily knew Harry, Ron, and Hermione were thinking the same thing as she was. If Snape had been in on protecting the Stone, it must have been easy to find out how the other teachers had guarded it. He probably knew everything — except, it seemed, Quirrell's spell and how to get past Fluffy.

"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, aren't you, Hagrid?" said Harry anxiously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"

"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly.

"Well, that's something," muttered Lily. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."

"Can't, Lily, sorry," said Hagrid, glancing at the fire. Harry and Lily looked, too.

"Hagrid — what's _that_?"

But Lily already knew what it was. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge black egg.

"Ah," said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard. "That's — er. . ."

"Where did you get it. Hagrid?" said Ron, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. "It must've cost you a fortune."

"Won it," said Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."

"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Hermione.

"Well, I've bin doin' some reading'," said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow. "Got this outta the miscarry —_ Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit _— it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breath fire on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here — how ter recognized different eggs — what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

He looked very pleased with himself, but Hermione didn't.

"Hagrid, you live in a _wooden house_," she said.

But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was humming merrily as he stoked the fire.

So now they had something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut.

"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Ron sighed, as evening after evening they struggled through all the extra homework they were getting. Hermione had now started making schedules for Harry, Ron and Lily, too. It was driving them nuts.

Then, one breakfast time, Hedwig brought Harry another note from Hagrid. He had written two words on it: _It's hatching._

Lily was rather excited when Boston brought her a note. She had expected it to be from the Peters, but was surprised when she saw it was from Dumbledore himself.

"Well," urged Ron, "go on, open it!"

Lily unfolded the note and read the elegant script:

Dear Lily,

I have sent Boston to you with a letter from myself. Please report to my office after breakfast. I trust you remember the way. The password is "lemon drop" in case you've forgotten. See you then.

Dumbledore.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at Lily, their eyes wide. Ron was the first to speak.

"What did you _do_?" he asked, seeming mystified.

"I have no idea," Lily muttered as she looked toward the High Table. Dumbledore caught her eye and smiled. She smiled back faintly.

"Well, you haven't done anything _wrong_," Hermione concluded.

"Maybe he just wants to talk to you," Harry suggested.

Lily nodded, but her hunger subsided and she felt sick to her stomach. All too soon did breakfast end and Lily walked all be herself to the ugly gargoyle.

"Lemon drop," she sighed. Like before, the gargoyle hopped aside as the wall split in two, and Lily got onto the stairs as they began to rise.

The glossy doors appeared, and before Lily could even knock, the doors swung open to reveal Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, waiting. Fawkes was sitting on his perch, looking just as stunning as he had when Lily first came into Dumbledore's office.

"Ah, there you are, Lily," Dumbledore smiled.

Slowly, Lily stepped into the room, her heart pounding so hard she thought it might burst out of her chest.

"Hello, Professor," she managed to choke out.

"How are you?" he asked casually.

"I'm fine. And you?"

"I'm afraid I've been better. I've just heard from Madam Pomfrey that an injury you received at the beginning of the school year has yet to heal."

That was true — when the Dark Mark had started bleeding, it never really stopped. It still bled, but only very small amounts — nothing that could seriously _harm_ Lily. So, she just kept it bandaged at all times, as Madam Pomfrey had instructed her to do so when she went for one of her weekly check ups.

"Er — yes, sir, that's correct."

"If you wouldn't mind, may I see the wound?"

Lily rolled up the sleeve of her robes and took off the bandages, holding her arm out to Dumbledore. He looked over the black mark which was slowly oozing blood.

"I'm afraid, Lily, that this is some very dark magic," Dumbledore finally told her.

"I know," Lily said solemnly. "Madam Pomfrey told me what it was at the beginning of the year the first time I went to the hospital wing. . . . It's the Dark Mark. . . . It means I'm one of Voldemort's followers — but I'm not! I want nothing to do with that man! He's —"

"Lily, calm down," Dumbledore said soothingly. Lily relaxed a little, feeling less defensive.

"As I was saying, that's very dark magic, and I think until it stops bleeding, you need to be under my supervision."

"Wait, all because of this mark? Sir, my grades are exceptional! I'm fine, really!"

"I just feel like your classes should be taken here with me. I think I would do well as a teacher."

"I'm not saying you wouldn't, sir, but I feel like I can handle this! All my classes are going perfectly fine — er — I _am_ having a little trouble in Defense Against the Dark Art, but I —"

"Speaking of Defense Against the Dark Arts, how _is_ Professor Quirrell doing, Lily? Does he seem to be . . . the same to you?"

"I don't really understand what you mean, sir," Lily said slowly. Her fear had diminished and curiosity took its place.

"Does he seem. . . . Normal?"

"Aside from the stuttering? I guess. . . . Why do you ask?"

"Just curious is all."

There was a knock on his door and Lily turned to see Professor Quirrell walk in. Her arm began throbbing and she grasped it, grimacing a bit from the pain and the blood's sticky feeling.

"Ah, D-D-Dumbledore, I was hoping to t-t-talk to you," Professor Quirrell stammered.

Dumbledore nodded. "Very well. Lily, why don't you give Professor Quirrell and I some time to talk. Go grab your books. We'll begin with Potions."

"Please, Professor Dumbledore, let me go to class with everyone else!" Lily pleaded.

"Lily, I have my reasons for doing this. Now, as I said, go fetch your books."

Lily, not liking the verdict Dumbledore had just announced, left his office and went to get her things.

With studying with Dumbledore to add to her plate, Lily saw her friends less and less often. Harry and Hermione told her one day during lunch how Ron had been bitten by Norbert (Hagrid's Dragon) and how Malfoy knew about the dragon. They also told her about Charlie, one of Ron's older brothers, and how his friends were coming to pick up Norbert from the astrology tower within a week. Lily wanted to go with them, but Dumbledore had given her so much homework to even dream of going — and it was a good thing. Because when she woke up Sunday, the day after Charlie's friends were suppose to pick up Norbert, Lily saw Hermione had already left the dorm and hadn't bothered to wake her. Still, she got dressed and headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. As she passed where the house points were posted, she froze.

"What . . . the . . . heck?" she said to herself.

Gryffindor was in last place, but she knew that had to have been some terrible mistake. There was just no way they were in last place! The last Quidditch match against Hufflepuff had put them in first place, and as of last night, Gryffindor had still been beating everyone! Now they were down two hundred points! There's no way they could've lost that many points in one night!

Unless —

"Harry and Hermione!" Lily said as she turned into the Great Hall.

She hurried over to where Ron, Harry, and Hermione sat. They were at the end of the table, Neville sitting with them, and they all looked extremely upset.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked them as she took a plate and loaded it with food.

"We were caught, Lily," Hermione groaned.

"And we got detention," Harry added.

"Not to mention they lost our House two hundred points," Ron muttered, which earned him a smack on the arm from Lily.

Days passed slowly, and Hermione and Harry went to serve detention along with Neville and Malfoy. Lily was planning to sneak along with the help of Harry's Invisibility Cloak, but Harry had left it in the astrology tower when Filch caught him and Hermione, and he still hadn't gotten it back. So, Lily and Ron sat in the common room, waiting for Harry and Hermione to return, but after an hour, they fell asleep on the couch. When Harry and Hermione returned though, they shook the two awake. Hermione sat on the couch with Lily and Ron as Harry told them what he saw in the forest.

Harry couldn't sit down. He paced up and down in front of the fire. He was shaking.

"Snape wants the stone for Voldemort . . . and Voldemort's waiting in the forest . . . and all this time we though Snape just wanted to get rich . . ."

"Stop saying the name!" said Ron in a terrified whispered, as if he thought Voldemort could hear them.

Harry wasn't listening, and neither was Lily.

"Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done so. . . . Bane was furious . . . he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen. . . . They must show Voldemort's coming back. . . . Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me. . . . I suppose that's what's written in the stars as well."

Lily swallowed hard. Harry's going to . . . _die? _The thought truly scared her.

"_Will you stop saying that name!" _Ron hissed.

"So all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone," Harry went on feverishly, "then Voldemort will be able to come back and finish me off. . . . Well, I suppose Bane'll be happy."

"I won't let him," Lily said quickly. The three turned and looked at her. "If Voldemort _does_ come back, I'll make sure he doesn't get anywhere near you. I don't care how powerful he is."

Harry smiled at her words. Hermione offered a word of comfort.

"Harry, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."

Without even realizing she said it, Lily muttered, "If Voldemort was smart, he would know the right person to fear is none other than Professor McGonagall herself."

The other three began laughing, but the conversation soon returned back to the stone. The sky had turned light before they stopped talking. They went to bed exhausted, their throats sore. Lily fell into bed and pulled the covers over her head. Just as sleep was about to take over, a thought suddenly shot into her head: What Harry had just explained what he saw in the Forbidden Forest. . . . It was the same thing she saw in her dream she had had on Christmas night right before Harry woke her up to go see the mirror.

With that realization in her head, Lily laid in bed wide awake for the rest of the night without gaining a bit of sleep.

* * *

**Well, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Do you want to beat Lily in the face with a frying pan? Well, if you were to leave a review, you could tell me and I'd be like, "Sounds cool, my brother and/or sister!" So you know what that means, right? . . . LEAVE A REVIEW! I love you all! And go on to read the last chapter of year one!**


	9. Chapter Eight

**Oh no, chapter eight is here, which marks the end of year one! Enjoy! ;)**

* * *

Secret Relations

Chapter Eight

Lily will never understand how she passed all of her exams with flying colors, but she had a feeling it was because of all the studying with Dumbledore. But either way, they were over, and when exams ended, Seamus wasted no time to find Lily.

"Lily!" he exclaimed as they walked out of Professor Binns' classroom.

Lily paused and turned around. "Oh, hi, Seamus."

"I haven't seen you in class lately — are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I've just been studying elsewhere."

"Well, where?"

"Places," Lily shrugged. Dumbledore had told her during their first class not to mention it to the students, but she still told Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Oh, alright," said Seamus. "If you want, I was, um, wondering if you wanted to hang out?"

Lily was about to say yes when Harry rushed towards her and grabbed her hand.

"Harry?" she exclaimed as he pulled her away. "Where are you going?"

"We're going to Hagrid's!"

"Harry! Lily! Wait up!"

It was Ron and Hermione. They were fighting to keep up as Harry pulled Lily across the grounds.

"Why are we going to Hagrid's?" Hermione panted when she and Ron finally caught up.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd," said Harry, scrambling up the grassy slope while still dragging Lily behind him, "that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"

"What are you talking about?" said Ron. But Lily knew what he meant. Someone knew Hagrid wanted a dragon, and they made sure they met him at the pub. But they wouldn't just give him the egg — they must've gotten some information out of him, somehow.

Hagrid was sitting in an armchair outside his house; his trousers and sleeves were rolled up, and he was shelling peas into a large bowl.

"Hullo," he said, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time few a drink?"

"Yes, please," said Ron, but Harry cut him off.

"No, we're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"

"Dunno," said Hagrid casually, "he wouldn' take his cloak off."

He saw the four of them looked stunned and raised his eyebrows.

"It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head — that's the pub down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw he face, he kept his hood up."

Harry sank down next to the bowl of peas, and Lily had no choice but to join him — Harry was still grasping her hand. It was beginning to go numb.

"What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?" Lily asked. Harry seemed relieved to know someone else knew why he wanted to visit Hagrid.

"Mighta come up," said Hagrid, frowning as he tried to remember. "Yeah . . . he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here. . . . He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I took after . . . so I told him . . . an' then I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon . . . an' then . . . I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks. . . . Let's see . . . yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted . . . but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home. . . . So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy. . . ."

"And did he — did he seem interested in Fluffy?" said Harry.

"Well — yeah — how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluff's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep —"

Hagrid suddenly looked terrified.

"I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" he blurted out. "Forget I said it! Hey — where yeh goin'?"

Harry, Ron, Lily, and Hermione didn't speak to each other at all until they came to a halt in the entrance hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the grounds.

"We've got to got to Dumbledore," said Harry. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Snape of Voldemort under that cloak — it must've been easy, once he'd gotten Hagrid drunk. I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Firenze night back us up if Bane doesn't stop him. Where's Dumbledore's office?"

"Oh, I know," Lily started. "Just follow —"

"What are you four doing inside?"

It was Professor McGonagall, carrying a large pile of books.

"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione.

"See Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall repeated, as though it was a very fishy thing to do. "Why?"

Lily's mind went blank — she had no excuse.

"It's sort of a secret," Harry said. Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared.

"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she said coldly. "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once."

"He's gone?" said Harry frantically. _"Now?"_

"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Potter, he has many demands on his time —"

"But this is important."

"Something you have to say is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Potter?"

Harry opened his mouth to say something but Lily beat him to it.

"Professor McGonagall — the Sorcerer's Stone — it's in danger!"

Whatever Professor McGonagall had expected, it wasn't that. The books she was carrying tumbled out of her arms, but she didn't pick them up.

"How do you know —?" she spluttered.

Harry was the one who spoke this time. "Professor, I think — I know — that Sn— that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore."

She eyed him with a mixture of shock and suspicion.

"Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow," she said finally. "I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."

"But Professor —"

"Potter, I know what I'm talking about," she said sharply. She bent down and gathered up the fallen books. "Potter, Weasley, Granger — I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine. Riddle — you follow me. Dumbledore left a job for you."

Lily turned to look at the others. They all just shrugged. As she began to walk away, she realized Harry still hadn't let go of her hand.

"Um . . . Harry?" she said sheepishly.

"What? Oh, sorry," he said, quickly releasing her hand.

"Come on, Riddle, we haven't all day," Professor McGonagall sighed.

"Coming," Lily squeaked, following McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall led Lily to Dumbledore's office, and when she stepped inside, she saw Fawkes perched on his golden perch. He had been looking very sick lately, and today he looked even worse.

"It must be getting close to a Burning Day," Lily muttered.

"Professor Dumbledore decided that since Fawkes looked close to a Burning Day, he wanted you to take care of Fawkes for the night," Professor McGonagall explained. "He mentioned something about leaving a note around here somewhere. . . ."

Lily found the note. It was neatly rolled up on his desk. She lifted it and untied the green ribbon tied around the piece of parchment that kept it shut. The instructions were written in a beautiful emerald green ink that reminded Lily of the ink that her first letter from Hogwarts was written in.

She carefully read the letter:

Dear Lily,

I was called to the Ministry of Magic, and as I'm sure you can see, Fawkes is not well. So, since you have gotten very acquainted with him, I figured you are perfectly capable of taking care of him for one night. If today is a Burning Day, please don't fret; it's about time he moves on. Anyway, please take Fawkes into your dorm — he hates being left alone for long periods of time.

Dumbledore

"Oh, well, that's fine," Lily smiled, rolling up the parchment and putting it in her pocket. She held her arm close to Fawkes. "Come on, Fawkes."

Fawkes slowly perched himself on Lily's arm, stretching his wings. Even though he was close to bursting into flames, Lily thought he was still beautiful.

"Is that everything?" Professor McGonagall.

"Yes, that's everything. So I think I'm going to head to my dorm now," Lily said, heading towards the door of Dumbledore's office.

"Miss Riddle, before you go, I have one question," said Professor McGonagall.

"Yes?"

"Do you really believe the Stone is in danger?"

Lily paused and turned slightly to examine Professor McGonagall's face. Then she shook her head and said, "If you say it's safe, Professor, then there's no doubt in my mind that the Stone is perfectly safe."

"Alright."

Lily headed back to her dorm, receiving strange looks from the few people she passed along the way. But she couldn't blame them. It's not common to see a phoenix, not even at Hogwarts.

It didn't take long to get to her room, and when she sat on her bed, Fawkes found a comfortable place to perch — the bed post of Lily's bed.

Hermione walked in several minutes later, and the sight of Fawkes nearly caused her to scream.

"Lily," she exclaimed. "Lily! Is that a _phoenix_?"

"Yeah! His name is Fawkes," Lily said.

"_Where_ did you _get_ him?"

"He belongs to Dumbledore. He's close to a Burning Day, and I guess Dumbledore didn't want to make him travel."

"This is amazing," Hermione said, stepping closer. Fawkes stretched his wings and Hermione jumped, causing Lily to laugh.

"He's perfectly harmless."

After dinner Harry, Ron, Lily, and Hermione sat nervously apart in the common room. Nobody bothered them; none of the Gryffindors had anything to say to Harry nor his friends any more, after all. Hermione skimmed through her books and Fawkes sat on Lily's shoulder.

Slowly, the room emptied as people drifted off to bed.

"Better get the cloak," Ron muttered, as Lee Jordan finally left, stretching and yawning. Harry ran upstairs and Lily looked at Fawkes, who was fast asleep on the back on the chair she had been sitting in.

"You think he'll be okay by himself?" she asked Hermione and Ron

"Probably."

Harry ran back down to the common room with the Cloak and wooden flute Hagrid had given him.

"We'd better put the cloak on here, and make sure it covers all four of us — if Filch spots one of our feet wandering around on its own —"

"What are you doing?" said a voice from the corner of the room. Neville appeared from behind an armchair, clutching Trevor the toad.

"Nothing, Neville, nothing," said Harry while hiding the cloak behind his back.

"You're going out again," Neville said.

"No, no, no," said Hermione. "No, we're not. Why don't you go back to bed, Neville?"

"You can't go out," said Neville, "you'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."

"You don't understand," said Harry, "this is important."

"I won't let you do it," he said, hurrying to stand in front of the portrait hole. "I'll — I'll fight you!"

"_Neville," _Ron exploded, "get away from the hole and don't be an idiot —"

"Don't you call me an idiot!" said Neville. "I don't think you should be breaking anymore rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"

"Yes, but no to _us_," said Ron in exasperation. "Neville, you don't know what you're doing."

He took a step forward and Neville dropped Trevor the toad, who leapt out of sight.

"Go on then, try and hit me!" said Neville, raising his fists. "I'm ready."

Lily looked at Hermione.

"Can't you do something?" she said.

Hermione stepped forward.

"Neville," she said, "I'm really, really sorry about this."

She raised her wand.

"_Petrificus Totalus!" _she cried, pointing it at Neville.

Neville's arms snapped to his sides. His legs sprang together. His whole body rigid, he swayed where he stood and then fell flat on his face, stiff as a board.

Lily ran to turn him over. Neville's jaws were jammed together so he couldn't speak. Only his eyes were moving, looking at them in horror.

"What've you done to him?" Harry whispered.

"It's a full Body-Bind," said Hermione miserably. "Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry."

"We had to, Neville, no time to explain," said Harry.

"You'll understand later, Neville," said Ron.

"I'm really sorry we had to do that," Lily said as they stepped over him and pulled on the invisibility cloak.

But leaving Neville lying motionless on the floor didn't feel like a very good omen. In their nervous state, every statue's shadow looked like Filch, every distant breath of wind sounded like Peeves swooping down on them. Lily even thought she could hear the sound of a bird's wings flapping close behind them.

A few moments later, they were there, outside the third-floor corridor — and the door was already ajar.

"Well, there you are," Harry said quietly, "Snape's already got past Fluffy.

He pushed the door open.

As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met their ears. All three of the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though it couldn't see them.

"What's that at its feet?" Lily whispered.

"Looks like a harp," said Ron.

Snape must've left it there," muttered Hermione.

"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," said Harry. "Well, here goes . . ."

He put Hagrid's flute to his lips and blew. Immediately the dog's eyes drooped. Slowly, the beast's growls ceased— it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep.

"Keep playing," Ron warned Harry as they slipped out of the cloak and crept toward the trapdoor. They could feel the dog's hot, smelly breath as they approached the giant heads.

"I think we'll be able to pull the door open," said Ron, peering over the dog's back. "Who wants to go first?"

Harry, who was still playing, pointed to himself.

"You want to go first? Are you sure?" said Ron. "I don't know how deep this thing goes. Give the flute to Hermione so she can keep playing.

Lily bent down and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open.

Harry handed the flute over. In the few seconds' silence, the dog growled and twitched, but the moment Hermione began to play, it fell back into its deep sleep.

"Harry," Lily said, "I want to go with you.

He nodded.

"Alright, but it could be a long way down," he warned.

"I'll live."

They lowered themselves into the hole and let go, hoping they'd find a soft landing. Cold, damp air rushed past them as they fell down, down, down and —

FLUMP! With a funny, muffled sort of thump they landed on something soft. Lily immediately stood and walked towards a damp wall, tripping as she went.

"It's okay!" Harry called up to the light the size of a postage stamp, which was the open trapdoor, "it's a soft landing, you can jump!"

Seconds later, Ron and Hermione landed next to Harry and lily just watched from the side.

"We must be miles under the school," Hermione said.

Lily's arm began to throb softly.

"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," said Ron.

"_Lucky!" _shrieked Hermione. "Look at you both!"

As Hermione struggled to the damp wall Lily was leaning against, Lily saw what she meant — whatever plant they landed on was now trying to hold onto Harry and Ron, who were staining against it. That's why Lily had been tripping as she walked to the wall — the plant was alive!

"Stop moving!" Hermione ordered them. "I know what this is — it's Devil's Snare!"

"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help!" Ron snarled sarcastically.

"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" said Hermione.

"Well, hurry up, I can't breath!" Harry gasped, wrestling with it as it curled around his chest.

"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare . . . what did Professor Sprout say?"

A light bulb went off in Lily's head. "It likes the dark and the damp — Hermione, light a fire!"

"Yes — of course — but there's no wood!" Hermione cried, wringing her hands.

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"

"Oh, right!" said Hermione, and she whipped out her wand, waved it, muttered something, and sent a jet of bluebell flames at the plant. In a mattered of seconds, the plant it loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth. Wriggling and flailing, it unraveled itself from their bodies, and Harry and Ron were able to pull free.

"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology," said Harry to the two girls as he joined them by the wall, wiping sweat off his face.

"Yeah," said Ron, "and lucky Lily doesn't lose her head in a crises — 'there's no wood,' _honestly_."

"This way," said Harry, pointing down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward.

All the could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls.

"Can you hear something?" Ron suddenly whispered.

Lily listened. A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.

"Do you think it's a ghost?"

"I don't know . . . sounds like wings to me."

"There's light ahead — I can see something moving."

They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. It was fully of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door. At the sight of the room, the throbbing in Lily's arm grew more painful.

"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" said Ron.

"Probably," said Harry. "They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once . . . well, there's no other choice . . . I'll run."

Harry took a deep breath, covered his face with his arms, and sprinted across the room. Lily was expecting to see the birds dive bomb Harry, but they didn't. He made it to the other side and pulled the handle, but it wouldn't budge.

The other three followed him. They tugged and heaved at the door, but it refused to move, even when Hermione tried her Alohomora charm.

"Now what?" said Ron.

"These birds . . . They can't be here just for decoration," said Hermione. That's when Lily realized they weren't actually birds.

"They're not birds!" Lily said suddenly. "They're keys! Winged keys — look carefully. So that must mean . . ." she looked around the chamber while the other three squinted up at the flock of keys. ". . . yes — look! Broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"

"But there are hundreds of them!"

Ron examined the lock on the door.

"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one — probably silver, like the handle."

They each seized a broomstick and kicked off into the air, soaring into the midst of the cloud of keys. They grabbed and snatched, but the bewitched keys darted and dived so quickly it was almost impossible to catch one.

"That one!" Harry suddenly called to the others. "The big one — there — no, there — with bright blue wings — the feathers are all crumpled on one side."

Lily saw it. It was a big silver key, like Ron predicted, and sure enough, it had a bent wing, as if it had already been caught and stuffed roughly into the keyhole.

Ron went speeding in the direction that Harry was pointing, crashed into the ceiling, and nearly fell off his broom.

"We've got to close in on it!" Harry called, not taking his eyes off the key with the damaged wing. "Ron, you come at it from above — Hermione, stay below and stop it from going down — Lily, you get it from the side — and I'll try and catch it. Right, NOW!"

Ron dived, Hermione rocketed upward, the key dodged them both, and Lily came at it from the side, arm outstretched, but it got away. Harry streaked after it; it sped toward the wall, Harry leaned forward and with a nasty, crunching noise, pinned it against the stone with one hand. Ron, Lily, and Hermione's cheers echoed around the high chamber.

They landed quickly, and Harry ran to the door, the key struggling in his hand. He rammed it into the lock and turned — it worked. The moment the lock had clicked open, the key took flight again, looking very battered now that it had been caught twice.

"Ready?" Harry asked the others. They nodded and he pulled the door open.

The next chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all. But as they stepped onto it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.

They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. The four students shivered slightly — the towering white chessmen had no faces.

"Now what do we do?" Harry whispered.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Ron. "We've got to play our way across the room.

Behind the white pieces they could see another door.

"How?" said Hermione nervously.

"I think," said Ron, "we're going to have to be chessmen."

Lily then realized that the pain in her arm had once again grown worse.

Ron walked up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the knight's horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Ron.

"Do we — er — have to join you to get across?"

The black knight nodded. Ron turned to the other three.

"This needs thinking about. . . ." he said. "I suppose we've got to take the place of four of the black pieces. . . ."

Harry, Lily, and Hermione stayed quiet, watching Ron think. Finally he said, "Now, don't be offended or anything, but none of you are that good at chess —"

_I've never even played, _Lily thought.

"We're not offended," said Harry quickly. "Just tell us what to do."

"Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you go next to him instead of that castle."

"And where do I go?" said Lily.

"Uh, you go take the place of the queen."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to be a knight," said Ron.

The chessmen seemed to have been listening, because at these words a knight, a bishop, a castle, and the queen turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board, leaving four empty spaces that Harry, Ron, Lily, and Hermione took.

"White always plays first in chess," said Ron, peering across the board. "Yes . . . look . . ."

A white pawn had moved forward two squares.

Ron started to direct the black pieces. They moved silently wherever he sent them. Lily watched as both black and white pieces were destroyed by the opposing side. Ron was doing well, but she was still wondering what would happen if they lost.

"Harry — move diagonally four squares to the right."

Their first real shock came when their other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, face down.

"Had to let that happen," said Ron, looking shaken. "Leaves you free to take that bishop, Hermione, go on."

Every time one of their men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall. A few times, Ron only just noticed in time that Harry, Lily, and Hermione were in danger. He himself darted around the board, taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones.

"We're nearly there," he muttered suddenly. "Let me think — let me think . . ."

The white queen turned her blank face toward him.

"Yes . . ." said Ron softly, "it's the only way . . . I've got to be taken."

"NO!" the other three shouted.

"Ron! I could go instead," Lily said quickly. "You, Harry, and Hermione can —"

"No, Lily, I'm going to be taken, not you."

"But Ron —"

"That's chess!" snapped Ron. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward and she'll take me — that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!"

"But —"

"Do you want to stop Snape or not?"

"Ron —"

"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!"

There was no alternative.

"Ready?" Ron called, his face pale but determined. "Here I go — now, don't hang around once you've won."

He stepped forward, and the white queen pounced. She struck Ron hard across the head with her stone arm, and he crashed to the floor — both Lily and Hermione screamed but stayed on their squares — the white queen dragged Ron to one side. He looked as if he's been knocked out — Lily hoped that's all that happened to him.

Then Harry's sudden movement caught her attention. He moved three spaces to the left, and from where Lily was standing, it looked like he was shaking.

The white king took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. With one last desperate look at Ron, Harry, Lily, and Hermione charged through the door and up the next passageway.

"What if he's —"

"He'll be all right," Lily said quickly, using her hair to the hide the tears streaming down her face.

"Lily's right," said Harry. "What do you reckon's next?"

"We've had Sprout's, that was the Devil's Snare; Flitwick must've pit charms on the keys; McGonagall transfigured the chessmen to make them alive," said Hermione.

"All that's left is Quirrell and Snape's," said Lily.

They reached another door.

"All right?" Harry whispered.

"Go on," the two girls replied.

Harry pushed it open.

A disgusting smell filled their nostrils, making all three of them pull their robes up over their noses. Eyes watering, they saw, flat on the floor in front of them, a troll even larger than the one they tackled, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.

The pain in Lily's arm intensified, though she hadn't clue why.

"I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one," Harry whispered as they stepped carefully over one of its massive legs. "Come on, I can't breath."

He pulled open the next door, none of them hardly daring to look at what came next — but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing in a line.

Like in all the other rooms, Lily's arm was now in even worse pain, and it was getting very hard to ignore.

"Snape's," said Harry. "What do we have to do?"

They stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. It wasn't ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward. They were trapped.

Lily gasped.

_I've been here!_,she though. _Well, in my dreams at least._

"Look!" Hermione seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. Harry and Lily looked over her shoulder to read it.

_Danger lies before you, while safely lies behind,_

_Two of us will help you, whichever you would fine,_

_One among us seven will let you move ahead,_

_Another will transport the drinker back instead,_

_Two among our number hold only nettle wine,_

_Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line._

_Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore._

_To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:_

_First, however slyly the poison tries to hide_

_You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;_

_Second, different are those who stand on either end,_

_But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;_

_Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,_

_Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;_

_Fourth, the second left and the second on the right_

_Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

Hermione let out a great sigh, smiling. Lily was shocked. _Why _was she smiling?

"_Brilliant," _said Hermione. "This isn't magic — it's logic — a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an once of logic, they'd be stuck in here forever."

"But so will we, won't we?" said Harry.

"Of course not," said Hermione. "Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: three are poison; two are wine; one will get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple fire."

"But how do we know which to drink?"

"Give me a minute."

Hermione read the paper several times. Then she walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering to herself and pointing to them. At last, she clapped her hands.

"Got it," she said. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire — toward the Stone."

Lily and Harry looked at the tiny bottle.

"There's only enough there for one of us," said Harry. "There's hardly enough for one swallow."

They all looked at each other.

"Which one will get you back through the purple flames?"

Hermione pointed at a rounded bottle at the right end of the line.

"But there's only enough for one person," said Hermione.

"Look, Hermione, you drink the purple potion — you're the one who could probably be of more help to Ron. Me and Harry will decide who faces Snape," said Lily. "The other will stay here and wait for help."

"Hermione, listen, get back and get Ron. Grab brooms from the flying-key room, they'll get you out of the trapdoor and past Fluffy — go straight to the owlery and send either Hedwig or Boston to Dumbledore, we need him. I might be able to hold Snape off for a while, but I'm not match for him, really."

So, Harry made the decision — he was going to fight Snape while Lily sat in the dank little room.

"But Harry — what if You-Know-Who's with him?"

"Well — I was lucky once, wasn't I?" said Harry, pointing at his scar. "I might get lucky again."

Hermione's lip trembled, and she suddenly dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him.

"_Hermione!"_

"Harry — you're a great wizard, you know."

"I'm not as good as you," said Harry as she let go of him.

"Me!" said Hermione. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things — friendship and bravery and— oh Harry — be _careful_!"

"You drink first," said Harry. "You are sure which is which, aren't you?"

"Positive," said Hermione. She took a long drink from the round bottle and the end, and shuddered.

"It's not poison?" said Lily anxiously.

"No — but it's like ice."

"Quick, go, before it wears off."

"Good luck — take care —"

"GO!" Harry and Lily shouted.

Hermione turned and walked straight through the purple fire.

Lily looked at Harry and found he was studying her face.

"You'd rather face Snape, instead of me going."

This wasn't a question.

"Yes," Lily admitted, "but, if you want to do it — go."

"You sure?"

"The more time you spend talking to me, the more time you're giving Snape."

"Right," said Harry.

"Good luck," Lily said, resisting the urge to hug him. She knew if she did, she would burst into tears.

Harry nodded.

"Here I come," he said, and he drained the little bottle in one gulp — then he walked through the black flames, leaving Lily by herself in the chamber.

So, Lily sank to the floor, sighing, and she had just begun to fiddle with the ring when she suddenly vanished.

Lily looked around at her surroundings and found herself in Hogwarts, but not in the chamber where she was moments ago. She was in a hallway, and it seemed to be the entrance to the Great Hall. She was all by herself.

And then —

The sound of footsteps was heard from Lily's left, and she turned and saw a handsome boy in Slytherin robes heading her way. The boy was Tom Riddle. The man who killed her parents. Lily opened her mouth to begin yelling at him, but he walked through her — _literally walked through her_. It felt like one of the ghosts had accidentally floated through her, and it sent shivers down her spine.

Tom stopped walking and looked behind him, and Lily followed his gaze. Walking down the stairs was a beautiful girl with golden brown hair and grey eyes wearing Gryffindor robes.

Tom smiled. "Rachel!"

The girl looked up and saw him.. "Oh, hi, Tom!" she called back, waving happily.

"How are you?" said Tom.

Lily found her legs moving on their own as they decided to near Rachel and Ton.

"Well, Harry and I got in another fight," Rachel sighed regretfully.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Tom said, but his voice didn't sound sincere. At least not to Lily.

"We'll be fine. We always work things out."

"You sure?"

Rachel nodded. "I just want to know what's up with Harry. Lately, all I have to do it say _one_ wrong thing, and he'll jump down my throat."

"Well, maybe you two need to take a break from each other," suggested Tom.

Lily glared daggered at Tom, though he couldn't see her. He was trying to break up Rachel and Harry — er, her parents.

"No, no, definitely not. We may not be getting along right now, but I don't think I could dump Harry," Rachel said.

"And why's that?" Tom said, now seeming irritated.

"I-I think I love him."

Then Lily was back in the chamber. All alone. When she came back to her senses, she was confused. Why did Tom try to break her parents up?

Then she heard a strained voice from the room behind the black flames yell, "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!"

The voice didn't even sound human!

Harry's voice soon reached her ears, and he was yelling as if he was in pain.

"Harry!" Lily cried desperately, hiding her face in her hands.

But what good would that do? Snape was trying to kill Harry and she couldn't do a damn thing. The thought caused tears to start flowing down her cheeks as she desperately tried to think of a way to get through to Harry.

That's when her help came.

A loud screech filled the chamber and Lily's head jerked up just in time to see Fawkes fly through the purple flames, a small package clutched in his talons.

"Fawkes!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

The bird landed on the table where the potions stood and offered Lily the package and accepted it and then unwrapped the package.

Inside was a vial filled with a clear liquid.

"Fawkes . . . What is this?" she asked. The phoenix nodded his head towards the black flames. "This . . . will get me through the black flames?" He nodded and she smiled.

Lily uncapped the vial and was just about to down the liquid when Fawkes turned into a giant fireball.

"Fawkes!" Lily exclaimed, nearly dropping the potion.

Soon, all the was left of the bird was a smoldering pile of ash. Lily quickly sifted through the ashes and found him. He was small and wrinkled and honestly, quite ugly, but Lily still smiled at the sight of him.

She picked up the phoenix and stuck him in the pocket of her robes (she didn't want to leave him all alone in the chamber) and quickly downed the vial. Before she walked through the fire, one thought occurred to her — the last few chambers played to their strengths: Harry was easily able to catch the silver key due to his position as seeker; Ron was able to get the others to safety with his vast knowledge of wizard chess; Hermione's intelligence and logic had got them through this chamber. . . . Whatever obstacle was laid out in front of her, Lily knew she would have to be the one to shine. She needed to save Harry and the stone. So, she pulled out her wand and, without a second thought, marched through the fire. She saw the black flames licking her body, wanting to burn her, but she couldn't feel them — for a moment, all she could see was dark fire —then she was on the other side of the last chamber.

The pain in her arm grew unbearable and Lily dared to let out a soft moan before looked around the room.

In the chamber was the Mirror of Erised, but Lily was more focused on the fact that on the ground, Quirrell, not Snape, was on top of Harry, both letting out agonizing cries.

She lifted her wand and pointed it at Quirrell.

"_Flipendo!" _she cried.

A blue light spurted from her wand and hit Quirrell on his side, sending him flying off Harry.

Not even acknowledging the fact she finally used Flipendo, she rushed to Harry's side.

"Harry! Harry, wake up!" Lily exclaimed, but he was out cold.

Anger still fresh in her blood, Lily jumped to her feet and looked at Quirrell. She noticed two things: one, Quirrell was blistered on his face and arms; two, he wasn't wearing his turban. Lily could see the back of his head, and it was a sight she wish she hadn't seen.

Lily couldn't make a sound, nor take a towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face Lily had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake. If Lily wasn't so pale, she could've sword all the color left her face as she stumbled backwards.

"What . . . what _is _that?" Lily stammered.

Slowly, Quirrell stood, laughing darkly.

"You don't . . . recognize your own . . . family?" a voice hissed weakly.

It came from Quirrell, but his lips didn't move — it was the face on the back of his head.

"You're not my —" Lily's eyes caught her reflection, and there, standing with her in the Mirror of Erised, was the unknown man, Tom Riddle, and Quirrell.

_Quirrell. _

That's when she understood why Quirrell appeared to her. That face wasn't just any face — it was Voldemort.

"Voldemort," Lily growled.

"How _dare_ you speak my master's name!" yelled Quirrell, the sudden use of his facial muscles causing several blisters to pop.

"Calm . . . down, Quirrell. She is . . . family, after all," said Voldemort.

"You killed my parents! They were your friends! Your own family!" Lily shouted, tears forming in her eyes. "You took them away from me! I swear — I'll kill you!"

But Voldemort only laughed at her words.

"Lily. . . . Would you really kill. . . . Your own uncle?"

Lily froze.

"You. . . . You can't be serious," she choked.

"Ah, but . . . I am. . . . Your father and I . . . were twins."

"You . . . you bastard!" Lily screamed. "You killed your own brother?"

"Yes . . . I did, but . . . I let you live. . . . Didn't I?"

Lily paused. He did let her live. . . .

But —

"Why?" Lily asked, pointing her wand at Quirrell/Voldemort. "Why did you let me live when you made sure they died?"

"I knew you had great power, Lily . . . . Power that I could . . . mold into perfection. Into an . . . unstoppable being. . . . I was going to make you . . . my most loyal follower," said Voldemort. "Why . . . would I want . . . to let it go to waste? You and I . . . were going to become the most . . . feared duo the world had ever seen. . . . But then . . . Harry Potter defeated me. . . . It's his fault we failed to become powerful. . . . It's his fault you live with the —"

"SHUT UP!" Lily screamed. _"SHUT UP!"_

"DON'T TALK TO MY MASTER THAT WAY!" demanded Quirrell, now making his way towards Lily.

"Don't . . . harm the child, Quirrell," said Voldemort, and Quirrell stopped in his tracks.

"Lily . . . don't you see? If you join me . . . we can rule Hogwarts . . . we can rule the entire wizarding world and so much more. . . . With your help, I could . . . be restored back to my former power before I was . . . destroyed. . . . Now, isn't that what you want?"

For some reason or another, Lily stopped the think about this and she let her wand fall to her side, which made Quirrell/Voldemort smile. Voldemort could give Lily all the power she wanted, and she could ensure that people would know who she was. She could finally prove to everyone that she was strong. He could give her what she wanted and more. Then Lily looked at the Mirror of Erised and was shocked to see the image had changed.

She was no longer surrounded by the three men, but instead two people. One stood to her right and the other to her left; a man and woman. The man had jet black hair like Lily and dark eyes, and he was the spitting image of Tom Riddle— he had to be her father. Next to him stood a woman with long golden hair and grey eyes — her mother. They were both smiling brightly at her, and Lily was reminded of the flashback she had in which she saw them die. At the hands of Tom Riddle. . . . At the hands of Voldemort.

She looked at Harry, who was still lying unconscious on the ground, and then she finally looked at Voldemort. How could she join him when he caused her so much pain?

_Easy, _said a voice inside her head, _just do it. He can give you all the power you've ever dreamed of._

The voice shocked Lily.

_Shut up, _she hissed mentally.

_You know it's true. Isn't that what you wanted __— more power? He's our ticket, honey. Just help him, and you can have all the power you want._

_But Harry __— my parents — he's hurt my best friend and killed my parents. Just tell me how I could help him?, _Lily thought. That would have to shut the voice up. . . . Right?

Wrong.

_You want to be known __— to prove yourself. All you have to do is say three little words: "I'll help you." That's all you'll have to say, and you've just gotten yourself a one way ticket to power._

_I . . . I can't._

_You can._

Lily was stuck. She thought she was saying no, but this voice inside her head . . . it was making her want to say yes. She feverishly looked at the mirror, looking for her parents for help.

"What do I do?" she whispered so it was inaudible to Quirrell/Voldemort.

Her parents just smiled at her, and for a moment, Lily felt like they were actually there with her in the chamber, and the feeling filled her with joy.

It was then what she knew she had to do.

She looked at Voldemort, smiling.

"I've decided," she told him.

Her smile signified to Quirrell/Voldemort that she chose to help him, and he started to laugh darkly. "Good, good. . . . You know where your loyalty lies."

"Of course," she said sweetly. She then drew her wand and put the tip of her wand on the end of Quirrell's nose. "I hope you burn in hell."

Quirrell's face twisted into that of rage. "Why you —"

"_Flipendo!"_

The blue light flew from her wand and hit Quirrell in the middle of his face, sending him flying once more, but this time he crashed into the Mirror of Erised. The mirror shattered and blood began to pour out of a huge gash on Quirrell's head. A terrible, blood-curdling scream erupted from Quirrell/Voldemort and Lily quickly covered her ears. Then a face emerged from Quirrell's body. It looked to be made of black smoke, and it was the source of the screaming. It headed for the door to escape the chamber, and it hit Lily. Instead of going through her like she had expected, it hit her hard and knocked her to the ground, her head making a sickening crack as it hit the stone floor.

The last thing she remembered seeing before blacking out was the back of Quirrell's head — Voldemort was no longer there — and the pain in her arm was gone.

Lily woke up in a dark room, but she knew she was in the hospital wing. After spending so much time there, she could figure out whether she was in her comfy dorm bed or the rather lumpy hospital wing cot.

"Madam Pomfrey," Lily croaked. Her throat was sore and dry, and her head was pounding furiously.

Lily heard Madam Pomfrey coming, and moments later, the curtains around her bed were pulled back. Standing there in her fleece nightgown and slippers with a glass of water and two small pills was Madam Pomfrey. Lily sat up.

"Here you go," Madam Pomfrey said. Lily gratefully took them, swallowing the two pills and emptying the glass within seconds. When she tried to place the empty glass on the nightstand, she found it was stacked with presents upon presents — she must've had tons of visitors.

"Mind if I sit down?" Madam Pomfrey asked, taking the glass from Lily's hand.

"Please," said Lily.

Madam Pomfrey sat on the edge of her bed and tons of questions suddenly flooded into Lily's head.

"Is Harry okay?"

"Yes, the boy is fine. He just woke up for the first time in three days yesterday."

"I've been out for four days?" Lily groaned.

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Oh, yes. Mr. Potter sat by your bedside yesterday and today from dawn to dusk. Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger, too. Oh — can't forget Mr. Finnigan, either!"

"How's Ron?"

"Compared to you, he's in perfect condition."

"But he was hit by —"

"Yes, I know that. But you were in very bad shape, Miss Riddle. Skull cracked open — you had a nasty concussion, not to mention that arm of yours — was bleeding worse than before, it was."

At the mention of Lily's arm, thoughts began flowing into her head quickly and she said, "What happened to the Mirror of Erised?"

"Professor Dumbledore fixed it and it was hidden again," Madam Pomfrey explained.

"I see. . . ." Lily muttered. She had no other questions. . . .

Except —

"What happened to Quirrell and Voldemort?"

Madam Pomfrey grew extremely quite and stood up.

"Good night, Miss Riddle."

And she was going, leaving Lily all alone. Lily wasn't sure how, but she managed to find sleep that night.

When she woke up the next morning, Lily found Harry laying on the cot next to hers, watching. When he saw her eyes open, he smiled.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah," Lily grinned.

"How are you feeling?"

"Not too shabby. And you?"

"I'm doing well."

And so the day went. Harry and Lily spent most of their time daring each other to eat the weird looking jelly beans from the many boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans they had received.

"I want to go to the feast," Harry told Madam Pomfrey at noon when she brought them their lunch.

"Me too," added Lily. "We can, can't we?"

"Professor Dumbledore says you are to be allowed to go," she said sniffily, as though in her opinion Professor Dumbledore didn't realized how risky feast could be. "And you have another visitor."

"Oh, good," said Harry. "Who is it?"

Hagrid sidled through the doors as Harry spoke — a huge smiled broke across Lily's face at the side of him. As usual when he was indoors, Hagrid looked too big to be allowed. He sat down between Lily and Harry, took one look at them, and burst into tears.

"It's — all — my — ruddy — fault!" he sobbed, his face in his hands. "I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! I told him! It was the only thing he didn't know, an' I told him! Yeh two could've died! All fer a dragon egg! I'll never drink again! I should be chuckled out an' made ter live as a Muggle!"

"Hagrid!" said Harry.

Lily was shocked to see Hagrid shaking with grief and remorse, great tears leaking down into his beard. "Hagrid," she started, "he'd have found out somehow, this is Voldemort we're talk about, he'd have found out even if you hadn't told him."

"Yeh could've died!" sobbed Hagrid. "An' don' say the name!"

"VOLDEMORT!" Harry bellowed, and Hagrid was so shocked, he stopped crying. "I've met him and I'm calling him by his name. Please cheer up, Hagrid, we saved the Stone, it's gone, he's can't use it. Have a Chocolate Frog, I've got loads. . . ."

Hagrid wiped his nose on the back of his hand and said, "That reminds me. I've got you two a present."

"It's not a stoat sandwich, is it?" said Harry anxiously, and at last Hagrid gave a weak chuckle.

"Nah. Dumbledore have me the day off yesterday ter fix 'em. 'Course, he shoulda sacked me instead — anyway, got you two these . . ."

It seemed to be a handsome, leather-covered book. Lily opened the one he handed her and was amazed to see the pages were full of wizard photographs. Every time she turned the page, her mother and father were there, smiling and waving at her.

"Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos . . . knew yeh didn' have any, Harry, an' yeh don' have many, Lily . . . d'yeh like 'em?"

Neither Lily nor Harry could speak, but Hagrid understood.

Harry and Lily made their way down to the end-of-year feast without Ron or Hermione. They had been held up by Madam Pomfrey's fussing about, insisting on giving them one last checkup, so the Great Hall was already full. It was decked out in the Slytherin colors of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning the house cup for the seventh year in a row. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table. Lily felt like a mess — she had a white gauze wrapped around her head and her left arm was in a sling, not to mention all the tiny cuts and bruises she had.

When Lily and Harry walked in there was a sudden hush, and then everybody started talking loudly at once. They slipped into two seats between Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table and tried to ignore the fact that people were standing up to looked at Harry and Lily.

Fortunately, Dumbledore arrived moments later. The babble died away.

"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink out teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were . . . you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts. . . .

"Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with two hundred and fifty-two points, in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."

A storm of cheering and stamping broke out form the Slytherin table. Lily could see Draco banging his goblet on the table. It was a sickening sight.

"Yes, yes. Well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little.

"Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes . . .

"First — to Mr. Ronald Weasley . . ."

Ron went purple in the face; he looked like a radish with a bad sunburn.

". . . for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Percy could be heard telling the other prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set."

At last there was silence again.

"Second — to Miss Granger . . . for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Hermione buried her face in her arms while Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves — they were a hundred points up.

"Third — to Mr. Harry Potter . . ." said Dumbledore. ". . . for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I aware Gryffindor house sixty points."

Before anyone could start cheering, Dumbledore began talking again.

"Fourth — to Miss Lily Riddle. . ." The room was deadly quiet. ". . . for demonstrating that your family does not determine your fate and showing what it's like to truly care for someone, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."

The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor now had four hundred and seventy-two points — exactly the same as Slytherin. They had tied for the house cup — if only Dumbledore had given Lily just one more point.

Dumbledore raised his hand. The room gradually fell silent.

"There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have though some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table. Harry, Ron, Lily, and Hermione stood up to yell and cheer as Neville, white with shock, disappeared under a pile of people hugging him. He had never won so much as a point for Gryffindor before. As Lily cheered, she was suddenly pulled into a hug. Craning her next upwards to see who it was, Lily spotted Seamus.

"Seamus!" she exclaimed, hugging him back. As they pulled away, something happened, but it was so quickly, Lily thought she had just imagined it; still, for a split second, it felt like Seamus kissed her cheek. And when she saw Seamus' face, her thoughts were confirmed — he had kissed her cheek. Seamus' face was bright red and he tried to stammer out something, but his words were lost over the roar of the crowd.

"Which means," Dumbledore called over the storm of applause, for even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were celebrating at the downfall of Slytherin, "we need a little change of decoration."

He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place.

That night, Lily looked up at the High Table while she ate, but when she saw the empty spot where Quirrell would usually be sitting, her hunger subsided.

After the feast, everyone headed back to their common room. Everyone except for Lily. She sat staring at the glossy table long after the dishes and desserts disappeared. Her reflection looked back at her solemnly. She didn't even realize she had company until Dumbledore sat down next to her.

"I see you've stayed behind," said Dumbledore. "Is something bothering you?"

"What happened to Quirrell and Voldemort?" Lily blurted out before she could stop herself.

Dumbledore, surprisingly enough, was smiling.

"I was beginning to wonder when you would ask me that questions," he said. Lily watched him look towards the wall facing them.

After a great deal of silence he said, "Voldemort got away unfortunately. And Quirrell . . . well, I am sad to say Professor Quirrell is dead."

Lily's eyes widened.

"He's . . . dead?" she said. "I. . . . Did I kill him when I —"

"No, you didn't kill him when you flung him into the mirror," Dumbledore assured her. "When Voldemort left his body, Quirrell died."

"Oh," Lily said, but she still didn't feel much better.

"Any more questions?"

"Er — yes," she said. "Professor, for some reason, Fawkes . . . came to me in the chamber. With a potion that got me through the flames. But . . . how did he know I needed the potion?"

"That, I cannot answer," said Dumbledore. "To be honest, that bird still surprises even me sometimes. But I will tell you this: it takes a great deal to get Fawkes to come to someone. Whether they're showing me great loyalty, or you were in desperate need of getting something for unselfish reasons."

Lily paused to think about it. "I . . . I wanted to get through the flames . . . To Harry. . . . I heard him yelling, and someone — Voldemort — was yelling 'Kill him'. . . . I was trying to think of a way to get through, because I wanted to save him — Harry, that is."

"That's why he came to you then," said Dumbledore, smiling. "He knew you needed help, and he offered it to you."

"But how did he know I needed the potion?"

"I have no answer," Dumbledore said. "Now, off you go! You need to pack."

"I have another question though."

"Well, go ahead and ask it."

"In the chamber, when I was facing Voldemort, something . . . weird happened. As I told you before, when I looked into the Mirror of Erised, I saw Tom Riddle, Quirrell, and some unknown man. Just before I knocked Quirrell into the mirror, I saw my reflection and . . . and what I saw . . . it changed. I saw my parents standing there with me, and the other three were gone. Why would it have changed?"

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, pondering the question. Then he said, "Well, you told me your deepest, most desperate desire was to face the man responsible for killing your parents, correct?" Lily nodded. "Well, maybe after facing Voldemort, and actually meeting him, your heart's desire was to see your parents."

"Maybe," she echoed. They were silent for a few more moments.

"It was weird," Lily said absentmindedly, staring at the table, "right before I flung Quirrell into the mirror, Voldemort told me that I could bring him back to his former power — before Harry defeated him. He said we would become the most feared duo in the world, and . . . I actually had to debate it, whether or not to help him. In fact, I was mentally arguing with myself, whether to join him or not. And I almost lost. But when I saw my reflection, and I saw my parents, I remember seeing their death, and suddenly I was filled with the anger and hate towards Voldemort, and I —"

"What do you mean you saw your parents' death?" Dumbledore asked, interrupting her.

Lily looked up. "Well, it started ever since I got this ring," she said, holding up her hand and showing Professor Dumbledore the gold ring with the black stone. "Every once in a while when I'm fiddling with the ring, it's like I get pulled back in time, and I can see what happened at some place in time. The last time I was pulled into one of those . . . visions, I suppose, I saw Tom — er, Voldemort — trying to break up my parents. But the first time, I was seeing what Tom did from his point of view. In a way, I guess you could say I _was_ Tom. I watched him kill my parents. He killed my dad . . . and my mom . . . she died after he took me from her. She was going to fight him, but he was so fast. He pulled out his wand and with two little words, she was dead," Lily said softly, her voice cracking. The memory of it brought tears to her eyes, but she hastily wiped them away.

Dumbledore was transfixed on her ring, but then he shook his head, as if snapping himself out of some kind of daydream. "Have you ever seen your parents, Lily? Not in the mirror, or in those visions — but actually seen them, as if they were in the same room with you at that very moment?"

Lily was confused, but very slowly shook her head. "No — no, I've never experienced that."

Dumbledore looked very troubled as she informed him of this, and he stood up.

"Well, time for bed.

Lily nodded and stood, but as she walked away, she paused.

"Professor Dumbledore?" she said.

"Yes?"

"While in the chamber, Voldemort . . . he said he was my . . . my uncle. . . . Is it true?"

Dumbledore was silent for a while before saying, "Yes, that's true."

"That's all I needed to know."

Lily had almost forgotten that the exam results were still to come, but come they did. Harry and Ron passed with good marks, and Hermione and Lily had the best grades of all the first years. Even Neville scraped through, his good Herbology mark making up for his abysmal Potions one. They had hoped that Goyle, who was almost as stupid as he was mean, might be thrown out, but he passed, too. It was a shame, but as Ron said, you couldn't have everything in life.

And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, their trunks were packed, Neville's toad was found lurking in a corner of the toilets; notes were handed out to all the students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays ("I always hope they'll forget to give us these," said Fred Weasley sadly); Lily gave Seamus her address so he could send her letters and Hagrid was there to take them down to the fleet of boats that sailed across the lake; they were boarding the Hogwarts Express; talking and laughing as the countryside became greener and tidier; eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans as they sped past Muggle towns; pulling off their wizard robes and putting on jackets and coats; pulling into platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross Station.

It took quite a while for them all to get off the platform. A wizened old guard was up by the ticket barrier, letting them go through the gate in threes and fours so they didn't attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles.

"You must come and stay this summer," said Ron, "all three of you — I'll send you an owl."

"Thanks," said Harry, "I'll need something to look forward to."

People jostled them as they moved forward toward the gateway back to the Muggle world. Some of them called:

"Bye, Lily!"

"See you, Potter!"

"Still famous," said Ron, grinning at them.

"Not where I'm going, I promise you," said Harry.

Harry, Ron, Lily, and Hermione passed through the gateway together.

"There they are, Mom, there they are, look!"

It was Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, but she wasn't pointing at Ron.

"Harry Potter and Lily Riddle!" she squealed. "Look, Mom! I can see —"

"Be quiet, Ginny, and it's rude to point!"

Mrs. Weasley smiled down at them.

"Busy year?" she said.

"Very," said Harry. "Thanks for the fudge and the sweater, Mrs. Weasley."

"Oh, yeah, thank you very much!" said Lily as she remembered the Christmas gift she had received.

"Oh, it was nothing, dears."

"Ready, are you?"

It was Mr. Dursley, still purple-faced, still mustached, still looking furious at the nerve of Harry and Lily, both of them carrying an owl in a cage in a station full of ordinary people. Behind him stood Mrs. Dursley and Dudley looking terrified at the very sight of the Harry and Lily (the Dursleys were taking Lily home).

"You must be Harry's family!" said Mrs. Weasley.

"In a manner of speaking," said Mr. Dursley. "Hurry up, you two, we haven't got all day." He walked away.

Harry and Lily hung back for a last word with Ron and Hermione.

"See you over the summer, then."

"Hope you have — er — a good holiday," said Hermione.

"Oh, I will," said Harry, a grin spreading over his face. "_They_ don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer. . . ."

As Lily and Harry walked away, Malfoy, of all people, ran up to Lily.

"Here, Lily, take this," Malfoy said, giving her a piece of rolled up parchment.

"What is it?" she said.

"It's my address. Write me this summer." And he left.

Lily was dumbstruck. Why did Malfoy want her to write him?

"Well, that was strange," said Harry and he pushed the cart containing his trunk and Hedwig's cage.

"Strange doesn't even begin to describe that," Lily muttered while following him.

* * *

**Welp, year one is over, but Lily's long journey is just beginning. She has a long road ahead of her - will she make the right choices? Or will she join her uncle if he ever returns? There's only one way to find out - stay tuned for chapter nine! I hope you've all enjoyed year one! If you have any suggestions as to how to make this story better or to help develope Lily in a better manner (please keep in mind, I try to change as little as I possibly can), please leave a review, or message me. I'm always happy to hear suggestions! And try following me on twitter for updates as to how I'm coming along with my story - LilyRiddle21 - look it up! I hope to hear from you guys soon, and I'll try to get chapter nine up as quickly as possible. Love you all!**


	10. Chapter Nine

**Wow, it's been forever since I've posted on here. . . Sorry about that! My internet was down because SOMEONE (Mom...) decided to mess with it, and when she fixed it, she decided NOT to get my laptop connected. So, to those of you who actually read my story, here it is. Year two. I'm sorry for the delay.**

* * *

Secret Relations

Chapter Nine

_Dear Draco,_

_For your information, Muggles do _not_ eat each other — well, some do, but that's illegal. I don't know where you're getting all these crazy ideas from, but honestly, it's ridiculous. Besides, couldn't you just ask your father? He works for the Ministry of Magic, so he should be able to answer your questions._

_Thanks for inviting me to go school shopping with you and your father in Diagon Alley, but I'm going to be spending the rest of the summer at the Weasleys' house (I know you don't like them, which I still think is ridiculous). Maybe I'll see you there! By the way, try to be nice to my friends this year, please? I'm tired of listening to Ron, Hermione, and Seamus tell me how crazy it is to talk to you. I keep telling them you're not a bad person, but they won't believe me._

_Oh, and I never thanked you for the hawk feather quill you gave me! It writes really well! In fact, I'm using it to write you this letter. It was a great birthday present, even if it was a tad early. Anyway, I have to write Ron, Hermione, and Seamus, so I better finish this letter up. Sorry it's so short. I'll write more next time. I promise._

_-Lily_

Lily let the ink dry and took out another piece of parchment so she could write Seamus. She was just about to start scribbling down a reply to his latest letter when a grey owl crashed into her closed window. Lily didn't have a doubt in her mind that it was Errol, Ron's owl. She opened the window and sure enough, Errol flew into her room. She patted Errol on the head and put him in Boston's cage to rest after taking the letter he had clenched in his beak. Boston hopped out of his cage to give the other owl more room and flew out of Lily's window to go hunting.

Lily made herself comfortable on her bed, opened the envelope and began reading Ron's handwriting:

_Dear Lily,_

_Can you believe you'll be at my house soon? I hope your guardians know how to get to my house. By the way, have you heard from Harry at all this summer? He hasn't returned any of my letters, and Hermione says he's neglected her letters, too. I know you two are neighbors, so I was wondering if he's mad at us or something? _

_There's really no point for you to respond to this letter since I'll be seeing you shortly. Anyway, if you need to call for any reason, my number is below — can you believe we got a Muggle phone? I wonder how the blasted thing works._

_-Ron_

Below was Ron's phone number, and Lily was wondering if Ron even used his phone yet. But judging by his last statement, she assumed no. His comment about Harry not responding to any of his or Hermione's letters got her thinking — Harry hadn't been spotted all summer. Were the Dursleys really that afraid of him? Granted, Lily had noticed Harry's absence from the beginning of summer, but she didn't realize that he was also ignoring his letters. Then again, he hadn't responded to any of her letters, either.

"Lily!" Mrs. Peter called up the stairs. "Are you packed for Ron's yet?"

"Almost!" Lily called back.

That was a lie — the only thing in Lily's trunk was part of her uniform — her cloaks were in her closet, her Nimbus Two Thousand was put in the corner of her room, neatly propped against the wall with a freshly polished broom handle. Her wand was on her bedside table, and she had a small bag filled with wizard money for whenever she went to Diagon Alley. The rest of her supplies was on her desk, the homework she had been assigned over the summer (yes, homework — over the summer) was neatly piled and sorted by subject on her desk. And laying open on her bed was the leather book filled with photographs of her parents that Hagrid had given to her last year — it was opened to Lily's favorite picture, which was the one with her parents and Harry's parents — she never realized how much Harry looked like his father, but he had his mother's eyes, that much was obvious.

Lily added Ron's letter to the pile of letters she had received over the summer and, with a heavy sigh, began packing — she packed everything she needed (and a few things she could've done without). She sent a well-rested Errol back to the Weasley's, and Boston returned home, seeming pleased with whatever he had caught and killed while out hunting.

Just as Lily was about to lay down to go to bed, she checked her left arm — last year her Dark Mark had been bleed continuously throughout the year — later she found out it was because Voldemort was actually at the school. Ever since then, she's kept her Dark Mark bandaged in white cotton bandages, just in case it ever began to bleed. It also kept the mark hidden from view — it was a mark that Voldemort's followers bared, and Lily didn't want people to assume she was one of his followers — it was bad enough she was related to the man.

With a few fleeting memories from her first year, Lily buried herself under her blankets and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, around eight o'clock in the morning, Lily found herself in the back of the Peters' car, parked right in front of King's Cross Station. In the front seat, Mr. and Mrs. Peter were arguing about which way they needed to go, but Lily knew that they were lost — they usually ended up getting lost on road trips.

"Can I have a quarter?" Lily finally said.

"Er — sure. Why do you need one?" Mrs. Peter asked while she rummaged through her purse and handed Lily a handful of coins.

"I'm going to call Ron," Lily said while pulling out the letter he had sent her the night before.

She stepped outside of the car and walked into King's Cross Station, which was just as busy as usual. She pushed her way through the sea of people until finally finding an available pay phone. She inserted the coin and looked at the number Ron had scribbled at the bottom of the letter while punching in the numbers on the phone. When she had finished, the phone called Ron's house. It rang a few times before someone answered it.

"HELLO?!" they shouted into the phone. "HELLO?! THIS IS RON SPEAKING!"

"Ron!" Lily exclaimed. "Ron! Stop yelling!"

"LILY!" Ron bellowed. "LILY! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"

"Blimey, Ron, shut up," Lily groaned.

"WHAT WAS THAT, LILY?!"

She sighed and said, "Never mind — look, Ron, I'm stuck at King's Cross Station because Mr. and Mrs. Peter are lost."

"YOU WANT US TO COME AND GET YOU?!"

"Er — yeah, that'd be nice."

"OKAY! I'LL TELL MY FATHER AND WE'LL FLY OVER THERE — WE SHOULD BE THERE IN HALF AN HOUR!"

"_Fly?"_ Lily exclaimed silently. "No, Ron, you can't — "

But Ron had hung up.

With a heavy sigh, Lily hung up the pay phone and made her way out of the station and back over to the car where the Peters were still arguing over which way to go. She got into the car and handed Mrs. Peter the left over coins.

"What did Ron have to say?" Mr. Peter asked as Lily settled into her seat.

"He said they're coming to pick me up and that they'll be here in half an hour, so I guess we just sit here and wait."

Half an hour passed, but the Weasley's hadn't shown up, and Lily was growing bored. She was looking out the back window, staring idly at the people as they walked by, and she blinked — her eyes were closed for a split second — but when she opened them, she was looking at a blue Ford Anglia, and in the passenger seat was one of her best friends, Ron Weasley. Sitting behind the wheel of the car was an older, balding man, and Lily assumed this was Ron's father, Mr. Weasley.

"What that —" Lily jumped from the shock of seeing them and slammed her head on the roof of the car. "Ow!"

"Lily, what's — oh, there they are!" smiled Mrs. Peter.

Lily got out of the car and Ron got out of the Ford Anglia to greet her.

"How did you. . . . Where did you. . . . I —" she stammered. Ron laughed at her confusion.

"You'll see once we leave," he said. "Now, let's get your stuff into the car."

Mr. Weasley parked the car and stepped out, walking up to Mr. and Mrs. Peter. They greeted each other with hugs and smiles, and it occurred to Lily that they must know each other — but how?

"Blimey, Lily, what did you pack in here?" Ron groaned as he lugged her trunk out of the Peters' car. "It's so heavy!"

"Well, I packed pretty much everything," she said with a laugh as she pulled Boston's cage out of the backseat.

"It must be a girl thing," Ron muttered, which caused Lily to laugh.

Soon enough, Lily's stuff was packed away and she and Ron were leaning against the car, watching Mr. Weasley and the Peters chat away like old friends. But they didn't chat for long, and eventually the Peters came over to Lily, giving her hugs and saying good-bye.

"I'll write you guys," she promised them as she got ready to climb into the Ford Anglia,

"Good," said Mrs. Peter with a smile on her face.

"Thanks for taking her, Arthur," said Mr. Peter.

"Oh, it's nothing," Mr. Weasley said, "Molly loves company, and I'm sure Ginny will be glad to have her around — she loves Harry and Lily."

"It's true, you know," Ron muttered. "Been talking about you all summer, she has — honestly, it's annoying. And when she found out I was friends with you two — well, I thought she was going to faint or something."

Lily laughed. "I'm sure she'll be fine, Ron."

Ron let out a heavy sigh. "You just wait and see."

"Well, let's get in the air — I want to get home before Molly starts cooking lunch."

So, Lily and Ron climbed into the car. Mr. Weasley said a few more words to the Peters before he got into the car himself and buckled up.

"Now you'll see what I meant about flying here," Ron said with a grin. Lily looked nervously at Ron and then to Boston, who seemed completely clueless.

"What are you talking about, Ron?" Lily said.

"Hold on — first thing's first — we need to activate the cloaking device," said Mr. Weasley. Lily watched as he pressed a tiny silver button and the car around them vanished — and so did they.

"You car can become _invisible_?" Lily gasped.

Mr. Weasley nodded. "It also flies," he said.

"_What?"_

"Hold on!"

The car lifted into the air quickly and Lily watched, horrified, as the ground retreated further and further away.

"WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" Lily shouted, pressing herself into the seat.

"We'll be fine, Lily," said Ron with a laugh.

"Ron! Cars don't fly for a reason — they're not suppose to!"

Soon they were high above the clouds and Boston seemed to be at ease in the sky. Lily, however, was still panicking in her seat.

"Lily, will you calm down?" said Ron.

"Not until we're back on the ground," Lily said.

"You know, your parents had a flying car," Mr. Weasley said.

Lily paused. "They did?"

"Sure did," he said with a nod. "I charmed a car for them. They used it all the time. Even when they were trying to get away from — er —"

"Don't worry about it," Lily said glumly. "I already know what happened."

An awkward silence fell over the passengers of the car — and talk of her parents was usually enough to put Lily in a sad mood. She had been sensitive about any talk involving her family, especially after she found out about who her uncle is — or was. She was now ashamed of her family name — last year she had been so proud about her surname. Now she rarely found herself speaking it.

A few minutes of dreadful silence later, Mr. Weasley said, "We're here!"

Lily looked out the window for the first time at Ron's house.

It looked as though it had once been a large stone pigpen, but extra rooms had been added here and there until it was several stories high and so crooked it looked as though it were held up by magic (Lily reminded herself it probably was). Four or five chimneys were perched on the top of the roof. A lopsided sign stuck on the ground near the entrance read, THE BURROW. Around the front door lay a jumble of rubber and very rusty cauldrons. Several fat frown chickens were pecking their way around the yard.

"This is where you live?" said Lily,

Ron's face turned a deep shade of red. "Well, yeah."

Lily smiled. _"Wicked!" _she said as they pulled into a tumbledown garage.

A smile broke across Ron's face as he said, "I'm glad you think so!"

"Well, let's go get you settled in!" said Mr. Weasley as he parked the car.

An hour later, Lily, Ron, Fred, and George were in the back yard, taking turns riding Lily's Nimbus Two Thousand. Ron's little sister Ginny had tried to talk to Lily several times, but each time, she'd freeze up and run away (this greatly annoyed Ron).

While Fred rode around on her broom, Lily peered through the window into the house and saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sitting in the kitchen, chatting away.

"I'll be back," she said to the three boys. "Keep riding the broom, if you want — just don't break it, please."

"Alright," said Ron and Lily headed inside. She stepped into the kitchen and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked at her.

"Hello, dear," Mrs. Weasley smiled.

"I . . . I need to ask you two something," Lily said slowly.

Mr. Weasley pulled out the chair next to him and said, "Well, sit down then."

Lily took the seat offered to her and inhaled deeply.

"What's your question, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Earlier, while we were heading here, Mr. Weasley said he charmed a car for my parents — what I want to know is. . . . How did you know my parents?"

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked at each other as if debating whether they should tell her or not. Mrs. Weasley nodded and Mr. Weasley looked at Lily.

"We'll, when we first met your parents, it was at Hogwarts — they were our teachers. When I grew up and charmed my first car, your father was intrigued and asked me to charm him one — I did, and that was the last I ever spoke to them," said Mr. Weasley.

Lily was confused. "But — how'd you know my parents used it to get away from Voldemort?"

"That's what I'm about to explain," said Mr. Weasley. "Lily. . . . Have you ever heard of the Order of the Phoenix?"

Lily shook her head.

"That's not surprising," Mr. Weasley said. "Well, you see, Molly and I didn't know what the it was either up until this summer — Dumbledore sent us this letter, asking us to do a favor for him and look into a group he started long ago but was disbanded — the Order of the Phoenix. Seeing as how it was a request from Dumbledore himself, neither Molly or myself could find any reason to say no, and we agreed to look up on it. Then we received a large package one day and it had all these photos of people — they were part of the Order, and it had information on every single one — whether they were alive or not — if they were alive, it had information on where they were — if they were dead, it had information on how they died — every detail there could be was there —"

"And that's how you knew my parents tried to get away in the car you charmed for them," Lily said.

Mr. Weasley nodded. "Exactly."

"Mr. Weasley — Mr. Weasley, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly _is_ the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Well, at first, we didn't know, but as we looked over all the information Dumbledore sent us, we found out — the Order of the Phoenix was a group of witches and wizards whom opposed You-Know-Who. It was quite a shocker to see that your parents were a part of the group — in fact, they were co-founders of the Order. Just seeing them signed up . . . well, needless to say, it was a bit of a shocker considering — well, because — because —"

"Because Voldemort —" Mr. and Mrs. Weasley both seemed to cringe as she spoke the name without any hesitation "— is my father's brother — my uncle," said Lily. "I already know — Dumbledore told me."

Mr. Weasley nodded stiffly. "Er — yes, your father's brother. I thought he would have opposed the Order, considering their relation, but it just showed that he wanted his brother gone just as much as the rest of us — it's a shame that they were killed by You-Know-Who."

Lily was silent for a few moments as she let the words sink in. Finally she said, "So, my parents — my parents wanted to fight — and kill — Voldemort?"

"That's right, dear," said Mrs. Weasley. "According to the information Dumbledore sent us, they were the most active members in the Order — aside from Dumbledore himself, of course."

Lily clenched her fists and stared at the table top for a minute or two. Her parents died trying to fight the man who killed them. . . .

She looked up at the Weasleys, her face showing no sign of amusement, and said, "My parents dedicated the last few years of their lives trying to stop Voldemort, right?"

They nodded.

"Then I want to take their place — let me join the Order! I want to fight Voldemort!"

"Lily, keep your voice down!" Mr. Weasley said sharply, glancing around as if to make sure no one heard her.

"Dear, it's very noble of you to want to fight You-Know-Who, but you can't just join the Order — it's not that easy. You need to be able to conjure a Patronus charm — that's how the members of the Order communicate with each other," Mrs. Weasley explained. "So, until you learn how, you can't join the Order — I'm sorry."

"But my parents — they fought him! I need to as well!"

"Why is it so important you join?" said Mr. Weasley.

Lily looked at him wondering why he even had to ask. She opened her mouth and said, "He took my parents from me before I even got the chance to meet them — to _really_ meet them. He wanted to make me his perfect follower — he gave me this mark —" she rolled up her left sleeve and showed them the Dark Mark "— to him, I was just a puppet . . . a tool."

"Dear, why would you want to join the Order of the Phoenix if it's been disbanded? You-Know-Who is gone — there's no point of you joining," said Mrs. Weasley.

"He must be coming back!" Lily said, her voice rising — she didn't want to tell the Weasley's that Voldemort was still alive — if Dumbledore wanted them to know, he would have told them, and it was obvious that they didn't know. "Why else would Dumbledore have you look into the Order of the Phoenix? He must have a feeling that he's going to return!"

"Lily — keep it _down_," Mr. Weasley said through clenched teeth.

"Look, all I'm saying is that Dumbledore wouldn't have given you all the information on the Order if there wasn't a reason," Lily said lowly. "He must have a feeling — and a bad one, at that — that Voldemort is returning. I don't care what you guys say — Dumbledore wouldn't just start the Order up again if he hadn't been given a reason to do so."

Mr. Weasley sighed heavily, running his hands through his thinning red hair. Finally he looked at Lily, a grin of amusement on his face, and said, "From the stories I've heard from Dumbledore, you're a lot like your mother — stubborn. We'll send a letter to Professor Dumbledore, telling him about your decision, and we'll see what he says — if he gives you permission to join, we'll see what we can do about teaching you how to produce a Patronus charm."

A huge smile spread across her face and Lily exclaimed, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you _so_ much!"

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley smiled, pleased to know they made Lily _very_ happy. She excused herself and ran up to her room — she needed to write Seamus and send off her letter to Draco.

As the days passed, Lily began to learn about the Order. One day, while she and Mr. Weasley were looking at individual photos of the original members of the Order, Lily spotted a picture of Harry's mother. Written under her picture in tiny, neat hand writing was the name _Lily Potter_. Next to her photo was a picture of the Lily's father, and written under his smiling face in big, curly (and somewhat messy) handwriting was _Harry Riddle_. Looking at the two pictures, she said, "Why do I have the same name as Harry's mother? And why does Harry share his name with my father?"

"No one ever told you that you were named after Harry's mother?" said Mr. Weasley. Lily shook her head. "From what Dumbledore told me, your parents absolutely adored Lily and James — when you were born, they named you after Lily. And when Lily and James had their child, they named him Harry — after your father. They had a great bond, the four of them. I wish I had had a chance to get to really meet them."

_Me too, _Lily thought. Then she said, "Thanks for telling me — I never heard that before."

She continued looking through the photos until coming across a photo of a man who looked strangely familiar. He was pale with scars across his face, and though he looked to be quite young, his light brown hair had flecks of grey. Underneath his picture was the name _Remus 'Moony' Lupin_.

"I've seen this man before," Lily told Mr. Weasley while holding up the picture. "I know I have."

"Hm?" Mr. Weasley looked at the picture of Remus and shook his head. "No, impossible! According to all the files, he's a hard man to find."

"But . . . I know I have," Lily repeated, this time quieter. She looked at the photo in her hand, watching as the man by the name of Remus laughed and waved at her. Where had she seen him?

On the day of Lily's (and Harry's birthday), she and Ron sent Boston to 4 Privet Drive in Surrey, hoping to get some kind of response from Harry.

Later on that day, while they were eating lunch, Lily got a letter she had been waiting for. Dumbledore's letter — it would determine whether she could join the Order or not. But of course, Dumbledore couldn't do anything normally, and delivering letters was no exception. Instead of sending an owl like most magical folk would do, he sent a different bird — he sent Fawks.

"Fawkes!" Lily exclaimed happily when the scarlet and gold bird swooped into the kitchen through an open window just as she was about to take a bite out of her corned beef sandwich Mrs. Weasley made her.

"Blimey! What kind of bird is that?" Fred said as Fawkes landed in front of Lily. There was a letter grasped in his beak and he offered it to Lily. She took it and noticed Fawkes looking hungrily at her sandwich, so she tore off a piece and gave it to the bird.

"What's that?" said Ron, trying to get a look at the envelope in Lily's hands.

"Nothing," she said quickly, putting the letter facedown on her lap. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were watching her. Lily gave a slight nod to the couple — it was barely noticeable.

"Well, if you say so," said Ron while taking a bite from his sandwich, obviously disappointed.

After lunch, Fawkes flew off, returning to Dumbledore, and Mr. Weasley pulled Lily and his wife into another room, locking the door behind him. Quietly he said, "Hand me the letter."

Lily did as he told her. Mr. Weasley opened the yellowish envelope and pulled out a letter on the same yellowish parchment and began to quietly read the letter aloud:

" '_Dear Arthur and Molly,_

" '_Thank you for the letter that informed me of Lily's recent decision to join the Order. I think she would make a lovely addition to the Order of the Phoenix, but, as you so kindly mentioned, she must be able to produce a Patronus charm, which takes time and skill that is far beyond a second-year level. That being said, I will propose something to Lily; a challenge, if you will: If Lily Riddle can master the Patronus spell and create a Patronus charm by the end of her third year — yes, third — here at Hogwarts, she will be granted full membership to the Order of the Phoenix._

" '_Please inform Lily of this immediately. Thank you for your time, and I can't wait to see your children at Hogwarts this year — you're sending another child of yours, are you not? Sincerely, Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards).' "_

Lily was smiling as she said, "So. . . . I can join?"

"That's what it says," said Mr. Weasley.

"That's great! All I have to do is conjure up a Patronus charm! Honestly though, how hard could that be?"

"Don't think it'll be a walk in the park, Lily," Mrs. Weasley warned her. "Why do you think Dumbledore gave you until the end of your _third_ year to master it? Besides, weren't you listening? He said it was very advanced magic for a second-year."

Lily gave a nod, her happiness not deflating in the slightest. "I know, but I'm just so excited! When can we start?"

They both smiled and Mr. Weasley said, "We'll start teaching you about the Patronus charm later."

"But for now, let's enjoy the rest of your birthday," said Mrs. Weasley.

Three days later, Lily could be found in the kitchen, helping Mrs. Weasley with the dishes after supper. When they finished, she headed up to Ron's room, which is where she was staying, and was surprised to see Ron, Fred, and George riffling through a pile of letters — her letters. Instead of charging in though, she sat back for a moment and listened to them.

"Where is that blasted letter?" growled Fred and he tossed aside a letter from Draco.

"All I keep finding are letters from Seamus — oy, Ron, is this your handwritting?" said George in an amused tone of voice.

"Yeah — why does it matter to you?" Ron said as he began to blush.

"Are you and Lily sharing love letters?" cooed Fred and George together.

By this point, Lily had had enough of them invading her privacy and she walked into the room, her arms crossed over her chest.

"_What are you three doing?" _she demanded.

The three red-heads jumped, quickly turning around to face Lily, each of them wearing a guilty look.

"We weren't doing anything!" they chimed together nervously. Lily looked expectantly at Ron.

"Oh, Ron," she sang in a menacingly sweet voice, "_what_ were you doing looking through my letters?"

Ron looked from Lily, who was giving him a menacing yet sweet smile, then to his brothers, and back to Lily.

That's when he broke.

"Okay! I'll tell you! _Just stop looking at me like that_!" Ron cried. Lily found it quite amusing and Ron continued. "We were trying to find the letter you got from that bird the other day!"

"And did you find it?" Lily said, though she knew they hadn't — Mr. Weasley had taken the letter and hid it for "safe keeping".

"No," Ron sighed guiltily.

"But look at what I just found," said George, holding up a letter, his face looking like he was just given the best gift ever. "A letter from Seamus."

"So?" said Lily. "I have lots of letters from Seamus."

"Oh, and are they all like this one?" grinned Fred, who was reading the letter over his brother's shoulder.

Lily felt her face turn beet red. They found _the_ letter.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about," she said.

The twins grinned devishly and Fred said, "Oh, I think you do."

He then cleared his throat and began read the letter aloud:

" '_Dear Lily,_

" '_Sorry this letter is so short, but I have something to ask you, and I don't want to chicken out. So, here it is — you know, never mind. Ignore that. How are you doing? Is your summer going well? From Seamus._

" '_Wait, no, ignore what I wrote — I'm going to ask you. Right now. Will you be my girlfriend? From Seamus. Again.' "_

"_Awe,"_ Fred and George cooed, _"Lily's got herself a boyfriend!"_

"Wait, you did say yes, right?" said George.

Lily, still blushing scarlet, hesitated before nodding. "Yes, I did, since you _must _know."

"Oh," Fred said, pretended to be overwhelmed with emotions, "Ithink out little Lily is growing up, Georgie."

Fred pulled Lily into a hug, and she could hear George pretending to weep.

"It seems like only yesterday that we were teaching her how to play wizards' chess," said George as he joined in on the hug.

"THAT'S BECAUSE IT _WAS_ ONLY YESTERDAY!" Lily shouted as she was squished between the two of them.

Fred and George ignored her.

"They grown up so fast!" cried the twins.

"You guys are so weird," muttered Lily.

The hugging and 'sobbing' continued for a few more moments until Fred suddenly yelled, "Oy! There's Boston!"

Immediately they let go of Lily and all four of them rushed to the window. Sure enough, there was Boston with a letter grasped in his beak. He flew into the room, dropped the letter on Ron's bed and soared into his cage to rest.

"What's the letter say?" Fred and George pestered as Lily seized the letter. She shot a look at the twins.

"Like I know," Lily said. "I haven't opened it yet."

"Well, hurry it up!" Fred said.

Lily opened the envelope and began reading:

" '_Dear Lily,_

" '_Please excuse the shortness of this letter — we're in a hurry to write it. You see, the Dursleys have put bars on Harry's window, and we think you and the twins can figure out some way to get him out of there (yes, we're aware of their antics). Take him back to the Burrow — the Weasleys shouldn't have a problem with him. From Mr. and Mrs. Peter.' "_

"Read this!" Lily demanded while shoving the letter in Ron's face.

He took the letter, and he and the twins read it. When they finished, a look of terror was on Ron's face, though his brothers seemed to be thinking.

"They put _bars _on his windows?" Ron said in disbelief.

"The Dursleys really don't like magic," said Lily.

"You're telling me," muttered Ron.

"George," Fred said suddenly, "go get the rope! Ron, you get the keys to the Ford Anglia."

"Right."

Both George and Ron left, leaving Lily and Fred alone in Ron's room.

"What are you planning on doing?" Lily said.

"Flying to Hary's house and getting him out while you stay here and cover for us."

"But your mum —"

"Won't know we're gone," said Fred. "We'll leave at midnight while Mum and Dad are asleep. They shouldn't wake up, but if they do, tell them we went outside to — uh — de-gnome the garden."

"I don't like this, Fred," said Lily warily.

"You don't have to like it to do it," he said with a shrug.

So that night, exactly at midnight, Ron, Fred, and George drove off towards Surrey in the Ford Anglia to rescue Harry while Lily was sitting back at the Burrow, hoping Mr. and Mrs. Weasley wouldn't wake up.

* * *

**Well, that was chapter one of year two! Yay! I'll edit and post the next chapter soon enough!**


	11. Chapter Ten

**Yay! I'm still alive! I'm going to aim for weekly updates! I promise you, I shall not disappear for as long as I did last time!**

* * *

Secret Relations

Chapter Ten

Everything went smoothly that night while Lily waited for the others to return. She was sitting down stairs in the kitchen re-reading the letters she had received from her friends over the summer so far. Seamus . . . Ron . . . Hermione . . . Hagrid . . . Draco. . . . It was nice to see all the people who wrote her and cared about her — yet there was fact that with all the letters she had received within a matter of weeks, she hadn't gotten a single one from Harry, and it bothered her a great deal.

She was still lingering on the thought of Harry not writing her or even coming over to her house when Mrs. Weasley walked groggily into the kitchen at three o'clock in the morning.

"Oh — Lily? What are you still doing up?" said Mrs. Weasley when she spotted Lily reading all her letters.

"I — er — was just reading — I couldn't sleep," said Lily, holding up the letter she was currently reading — it was from Hagrid.

"You want some tea?" said Mrs. Weasley as she sat down. She waved her wand and the kettle on the stove floated over to the sink, which began running water, and filled itself up. Then the kettle drifted back over to the stove and, with another flick from Mrs. Weasley's wand, the stove lit itself. "Tea always helps me sleep when I'm feeling restless."

Lily nodded. "Sure, I would love some."

The two of them sat there in silence for a few moments — Lily became distracted by the gnawing feeling in her stomach that told her something was going to go wrong.

"That's strange," Mrs. Weasley said, breaking the silence, "usually Ron snores — I can hear him a mile away — but he's so quiet tonight. . . . Maybe I should go check on him —"

"No!" Lily said quickly. "No! Don't! He — he and the twins are out de-gnoming the garden as a surprise — for you."

"The boys are out de-gnoming the garden?" said Mrs. Weasley. The tone of her voice made it obvious to Lily that she didn't believe what she was hearing, but despite this, Lily nodded.

"That's right," Lily said.

"So they're out de-gnoming the garden — which is something they hate — at three o'clock in the morning?"

Lily was stuck. There was no way Mrs. Weasley was going to believe her. So, coming to this realization, Lily buried her face in her hands and said, "No! They're not de-gnoming the garden! They flew the Ford Anglia to Surrey to get Harry!"

Mrs. Weasley was silent and Lily looked up timidly from behind her hands. Mrs. Weasley's face was bright red, and Lily could only guess that was from holding up the anger threatening to spill from within her depths.

"Lily, dear," said Mrs. Weasley in a strained voice, "go upstairs and get some sleep — I'm sure you're tired."

"You're not mad at me, are you?" Lily gulped.

"Oh, heavens no, dear, I don't blame _you_. Those boys are always getting into some kind of trouble. Now, off you go, get —"

Lily nodded. "Okay, good night, Mrs. Weasley."

"Good night, dear."

Lily gathered up all her letters and dragged herself up the stairs and into Ron's room. She collapsed on her bed and was soon overcome by sleep.

Lily awoke the next morning to the sound of Mrs. Weasley yelling.

"_Beds empty! No note! Car gone __— could have crashed — out of my mind with worry — did you care? — never, as long as I've lived — you wait until your father gets home, we never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy —"_

Lily rose from her bed and peered out of the open window into the yard. There she saw Mrs. Weasley scolding the twins and Ron, and standing there, just watching this unfold was —

"_Harry!"_ Lily squealed with excitement. He must've heard her because he began to look up at the window towards her, but Lily didn't wait for him to see her. She ran out of Ron's room, down the stairs, and into the yard where Mrs. Weasley continued her rant.

"YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK!" yelled Mrs. Weasley, prodding a finger in Fred's chest, who must've said something Lily missed. "You could have _died_, you could have been _seen_, you could have lost your father _his job _—"

"Harry!" Lily exclaimed, but Mrs. Weasley continued yelling at Fred, George, and Ron. Harry looked at Lily, a smile breaking across his face at the sight of her. She ran and hugged him. She hadn't seen him in what seemed to be forever.

The yelling seemed to go on for hours. Mrs. Weasley had shouted herself hoarse before she turned to Harry, who backed away.

"I'm very pleased to see you, Harry, dear," she said. "Come in and have some breakfast."

She turned and walked back in the house and Harry, after a nervous glance at Ron, who nodded encouragingly, followed her.

As the other four began to walk in after Harry and Mrs. Weasley, Fred nudged Lily and said, "What happened to de-gnoming the garden, Lily?"

Lily shrugged. "Things — uh — didn't go as expected."

After breakfast, Harry, Ron, and Lily made their way up to Ron's room, and they all sat on the floor facing each other. Boston and Hedwig were out hunting, and Scabbers was sleeping on Ron's bed. Lily was listening as Harry told her about Dobby the house elf, who was the reason he got in trouble in the first place. What surprised her even more was that Dobby was Draco's house elf.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Lily, shaking her head. "Just because Dobby is Draco's house elf doesn't mean that Draco is trying to keep you from going to Hogwarts."

"You're _defending_ him?" said Harry in disbelief.

"Oh, come off it, Lily!" Ron said angrily. "Malfoy has had it out for Harry ever since the Hogwarts Express last year! Just because you two are friends doesn't mean —"

"You and Malfoy are _friends_?" Harry exclaimed.

Lily sighed heavily and said, "Yes, we're friends, Harry — Draco really isn't that bad."

"Yeah, not that bad," muttered Ron. "He only nearly kept Harry from going to Hogwarts and tried to get us expelled last year."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I don't care what you two think; Draco is really nice! You want to read the letters he sent me?"

"You've been exchanging _letters_ with him, too?" Harry said.

"Why do you think he gave me his address at the end of last year? Don't you remember him telling me to write him?"

"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd actually do it."

"Well, that's what you get for thinking," said Lily, flopping down on her bed as a barn owl soared into the room and dropped an envelope on her stomach. She picked up the letter and saw it was from. She grinned at Harry and Ron and said, "Would you look at that? It's from Draco."

"Just don't let it touch the sheets — I don't want to have to burn those," muttered Ron. Lily couldn't resist the laughing. It seemed like the rest of the summer would be interesting.

As the days passed, Lily found herself spending more time with Harry, Ron, Fred, and George, and less time worrying about the Order. Soon, she had forgotten about it completely. And as the days soon added up to a week, they received a letter from Hogwarts.

"Letters from school," said Mr. Weasley, passing Harry, Ron, and Lily identical envelopes of yellowish parchment addressed in green ink. "Dumbledore already knows you're here, Harry — doesn't miss a trick, that man. You two've got them, too," he added, as Fred and George ambled in, still in their pajamas.

For a few minutes there was silence as they all read there letters. Lily was very pleased when she saw Dumbledore was allowing her to go back to class with the second-years instead of all her classes being taught by Dumbledore himself. Behind the letter was a list of the new books she'd need for the coming year.

SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS WILL REQUIRE:

_The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_

by Miranda Goshawk

_Break with a Banshee _by Gilderoy Lockhart

_Gadding with Ghouls _by Gilderoy Lockhart

_Holidays with Hags _by Gilderoy Lockhart

_Travels with Trolls _by Gilderoy Lockhart

_Voyages with Vampires _by Gilderoy Lockhart

_Wanderings with Werewolves _by Gilderoy Lockhart

_Year with the Yeti _by Gilderoy Lockhart

"Oh man," Lily groaned, "our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is a Lockhart fan."

"Probably a witch," laughed Fred.

At this point, Fred caught his mother's eye and quickly busied himself with the marmalade.

"That lot won't come cheap," said George with a quick look at his parents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive. . . ."

"Well, we'll manage," said Mrs. Weasley, but she looked worried. "I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things secondhand."

"Oh, are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked Ginny.

She nodded, blushing to the roots of her flaming hair, and put her elbow in the butter dish. Fortunately no one saw this except Harry and Lily, because just then Ron's elder brother Percy walked in. He was already dressed, his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his sweater vest.

"Morning all," said Percy briskly. "Lovely day."

He sat down in the only remaining chair but leapt up again almost immediately, pulling from underneath him what looked to be a moulting, gray feather duster, but it was in fact an owl — Errol.

"Errol!" said Ron, taking the limp owl from Percy and extracting a letter from under its wing. "_Finally_ — he's got Hermione's answer. I wrote her saying we were going to try and rescue you from the Dursleys."

He carried Errol to a perch just inside the back door and tried to stand him on it, but Errol flopped straight off again so Ron lay him on the draining board instead, muttering, "Pathetic." Then he ripped open Hermione's letter and read it out loud:

" '_Dear Ron, Lily, and Harry if you're there,_

" '_I hope everything went all right and that Harry is okay and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, because that would get Harry into trouble, too. I've been really worried and if Harry is all right, will you please let me know at once, but perhaps it would be better if you used a different owl, because I think another delivery might finish your one off._

" '_I'm very busy with schoolwork, or course' — _How can she be?" said Ron in horror. "We're on vacation_! — 'and we're going to London next Wednesday to buy my new books. Why don't we meet in Diagon Alley?_

" '_Let me know what's happening as soon as you can. Love from Hermione.' "_

"Well, that fits in nicely, we can go and get all your things then, too," said Mrs. Weasley, starting to clear the table. "What're you all up to today?"

Harry, Ron, Lily, Fred, and George were planning to go up the hill to the small paddock the Weasley owned. It was surrounded by trees that blocked it from the view of the village below, meaning that they could practice Quidditch there, as long as they didn't fly too high. They couldn't use real Quidditch balls, which would have been hard to explain if they had escaped and flown away over the village; instead they threw apples for one another to catch. They took turns riding Harry and Lily's Nimbus Two Thousands, which were easily the best brooms; Ron's old Shooting Star was often outstripped by passing butterflies.

Five minutes later they were marching up the hill, broomsticks over their shoulders. They had asked Percy if he wanted to join them, but he had said he was busy. Lily had only seen Percy as mealtimes so far; he stayed shut in his room the rest of the time.

"Wish I knew what he was up to," said Fred, frowning. "He's not himself. His exams results came to day before you did, Harry; twelve O.W.L.s and he hardly gloated at all."

"Ordinary Wizarding Levels," George explained, seeing Harry's puzzled look. "Bill got twelve, too. If we're not careful, we'll have another Head Boy in the Family. I don't think I could stand the shame."

Bill was the oldest Weasley brother. He and the next brother, Charlie, had already left Hogwarts. Lily had never met either of them, but knew that Charlie was in Romania studying dragons and Bill in Egypt working for the wizard's bank, Gringotts.

"Dunno how Mum and Dad are going to afford all our school stuff this year," said George after awhile. "Five sets of Lockhart books! And Ginny needs robes and a wand and everything. . . ."

Neither Lily or Harry said anything. They both felt a bit awkward. Stored in two separate underground vaults at Gringotts in London were two small fortunes that their parents had left for them. Of course, it was only in the wizarding world that they had money; you couldn't use Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts in Muggle Shops.

Mrs. Weasley woke them all early the following Wednesday. After a quick half a dozen bacon sandwiches each, they pulled on their coats and Mrs. Weasley took a flowerpot off the kitchen mantelpiece and peered inside.

"We're running low, Arthur," she sighed. "We'll have to buy some more today. . . . Ah, well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!"

And she offered him the flowerpot.

Harry just started at them all watching him.

"W-what am I supposed to do?" he stammered.

"They've never travelled by Floo powder," said Ron suddenly. Sorry, Harry, sorry, Lily, I forgot."

"Never?" said Mr. Weasley. "But how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?"

"We went on the Underground —"

"Really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. "Were there _escapators_?" How exactly —"

"Not _now_, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Floo powder's a lot quicker, dear, but goodness me, if you've never used it before —"

"They'll be all right, Mum," said Fred. "Harry, Lily, watch us first."

He took a pinch of the glittering powder out of the flowerpot, stepped up to the fire, and threw the powder into the flames.

With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Fred, who stepped right into it, shouted, "Diagon Alley!" and vanished.

"May I try?" Lily said to Mrs. Weasley. "I think I got it."

"Of course you can, dear," said Mrs. Weasley with a smile. "Just take a handful, and remember — speak clearly. Oh, and please to get off at the right grate — it shouldn't be a problem though, as long as you've spoken clearly; wait until you see Fred."

Lily nodded and took a handful of Floo powder and threw it into the flames. The fire turned green and Lily timidly stepped in, shouted, "Diagon Alley!" and she was gone.

The feeling was . . . weird. Lily felt as if she was sucked up into a tube and was now being spun around repeatedly. In fact, she was beginning to feel a bit sick. Then she saw a head with fiery orange hair and she stepped out of the fire and found herself face to face with Fred. She recognized the place she had arrived in as the Leaky Cauldron — Hagrid had taken them through the pub last year.

"There you are," Fred said with a grin.

"Yeah, here I am," said Lily, clutching her stomach.

"Not bad for a firstie," he laughed.

Next came George, then Mr. Weasley, and they were followed by Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Ron, and Percy.

"Well, everyone's here!" smiled Mrs. Weasley, barely glancing around. "Let's go!"

"Mrs. Weasley," Lily said softly, "Harry isn't here."

"Oh, Harry isn't here?" said Mrs. Weasley cheerfully before she fell silent. Lily's words must've finally sunk in because she yelled, _"Harry isn't here?"_

"No, he's not," said Fred thoughtfully. "Never walked through the flames."

"Are you sure?" asked Ginny anxiously, speaking in front of Lily for the first time. "He went in right before Mummy and I!"

"I think we would've seen him," George sighed. "Your crush on Harry is quite ridiculous, Ginny."

"I-I don't have a crush on Harry," Ginny said, blushing scarlet.

"Of course you do," the twins sang tauntingly.

"Oh, shut up," Percy said. "Honestly, you two are so immature."

"Can we please focus on the fact that we've lost Harry?" Lily and Ron groaned impatiently.

"Lily? Ron?" someone shouted. The two spun around and saw Hermione standing there, her brown hair as bushy as ever.

"Hermione!" Lily exclaimed.

Hermione ran over to them and began talking almost immideately. "How are you? Oh — it's so good to see you! How was your summer? Tell me — hey, where's Harry?"

Ron sighed guiltily. "We. . . . Well — er — we sort of lost him."

"You did _what_?" said Hermione in disbelief.

"Well, you see, we travelled by Floo powder and —"

"Ron, Harry's probably never travelled by Floo powder! It's a wonder Lily got here," Hermione groaned.

"I know," sighed Ron.

"How about this?" started Mrs. Weasley. "We'll split up — Ron, Fred, George, Percy, and Arthur will look together, Ginny and I will go searching, and Hermione and Lily can look for him together."

"Can't I go with Lily and Hermione?" asked Ron.

"No," said Mrs. Weasley sharply. "We'll meet up at Gringotts in fifteen minutes if we can't find him. Now, everyone understand?"

They all nodded.

"Right! Off you go then —"

After they got past the brick wall and onto the cobble stone street of Diagon Alley, Hermione and Lily began their search.

"We should probably get somewhere high up so we can see more," said Hermione.

"How about the stairs to Gringotts?" suggested Lily. "Those are pretty high up — I'm sure we'll be able to see a lot from up there."

"That's a perfect place, Lily," said Hermione happily. "My parents just headed there, anyway. We were walking through the Leaky Cauldron when I saw you and Ron, and I promised I would meet them there later."

The two of them ran towards the giant bank and up the white flight of stairs, maunuvering around other witches and wizards, and a few nervous-looking muggles.

"Where do you think Harry popped out at?" Hermione asked Lily.

"No idea — if I knew, we wouldn't be looking for him."

Hermione nodded and said, "Good point."

The two girls continued to search for Harry for maybe ten minutes before Hermione finally shouted, "There he is!"

Lily turned and saw Harry's untidy black hair. Next to him stood Hagrid, and Lily smiled at the sight of them. She began running down the stairs as Hermione yelled, "Harry! Harry! Over here!"

Lily got to Harry first — his glasses were broken and he was covered in black soot. Hagrid, however, still looked the same.

"Hullo, Lily," Hagrid smiled. "How are yeh doin'?"

"I'm doing great, Hagrid," said Lily.

Then Hermione was next to Lily. "What happened to your glasses? Hello, Hagrid — Oh, it's _wonderful_ to see you two again — Are you coming to Gringotts, Harry?"

"As soon as I've found the Weasleys," said Harry.

"Yeh won't have ter wait," Hagrid said with a grin.

Harry, Lily, and Hermione looked around: Sprinting up the crowded street were Ron, Fred, George, Percy, and Mr. Weasley.

"Harry," Mr. Weasley panted. "We _hoped_ you'd only gone one grate too far. . . ." He mopped his glistening bald patch. "Molly's frantic — she's coming now —"

"Where did you come out?" Ron asked.

"Knockturn Alley," said Harry grimly.

"_Excellent!"_ said Fred and George together.

"We've never been allowed in," said Ron enviously.

"I should ruddy well think not," growled Hagrid.

Mrs. Weasley now came galloping into view, her hand bag swinging wildly in one hand, Ginny just clinging onto the other.

"Oh, Harry — oh, my dear — you could have been anywhere —"

Gasping for breath she pulled a large clothes brush out of her bag and began sweeping off the soot on Harry. Mr. Weasley took Harry's glasses, gave them a tap of his wand, and returned them, good as new.

"Well, gotta be off," said Hagrid, who was having his hand wrung by Mrs. Weasley ("Knockturn Alley! If you hadn't found him, Hagrid!"). "See yer at Hogwarts!" And he strode away, head and shoudlers taller than anyone else in the packed street.

"Guess who I saw at Borgin and Burkes?" Harry asked Ron, Lily, and Hermione as they climbed the Gringott's steps. "Malfoy and his father."

"Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" said Mr. Weasley sharply behind them.

"No, he was selling —"

"So he's worried," said Mr. Weasley with grim satisfaction. "Oh, I'd love to get Lucius for something. . . ."

"You be careful, Aruthur," said Mrs. Weasley sharply as they were bowed into the bank by a goblin at the door. "That family's trouble. Don't go biting off more than you can chew —"

"So you don't think I'm a match for Lucius Malfoy?" said Mr. Weasley indignantly, but he was distracted almost at once by the sight of Hermione's parents, who were standing nervously at the counter that ran all along the great marble hall, waiting for Hermione to introduce them.

"But you're Muggles!" said Mr. Weasley delightedly. "We must have a drink! What's that you've got there? Oh, you're changing Muggle money. Molly, look!" He pointed excitedly at the ten-pound notes in Mr. Granger's hand.

"Meet you back here," Ron said to Lily and Hermione; since Lily already had her money, she decided to stay with Hermione and her parents.

"So, you must tell me all about your summer," Hermione said while her parents talked to a goblin about exchanging their Muggle money for wizard money.

"Well, nothing really happened," said Lily.

"Oh, _come on_, Lily. Something must've happened! What about Seamus? It seemed like he liked you."

"Yeah, he did — er — he _does_ like me."

"Really?" said Hermione anxiously.

"Yeah, and, he sort of — er — well, he sort of asked me to — er — be his girlfriend."

"Are you _serious_?" Hermione said in disbelief.

Lily nodded and there was a look on Hermione's face that made it obvious that she was excited.

"_You have a boyfriend, Lily!"_

"Shh, Hermione, keep it down!" Lily whispered while her face began turning red. Hermione's voice had echoed throughout Gringotts, and now everyone was looking at them. "Not everyone in Diagon Alley needs to know!"

"Sorry, Lily," Hermione said with a blush.

Back outside on the marble steps, Lily and Hermione met Harry, Ron, and the rest of the Weasleys, and then they all separated. Percy muttered vaguely about needing a new quill. Fred and George had spotted their friend from Hogwarts, Lee Jordan. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were going to a secondhand robe shop. Mr. Weasley was insisting on taking the Grangers off to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink.

"We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your schoolbooks," said Mrs. Weasley, setting off with Ginny. "And not one step down Knockturn Alley!" she shouted at the twins' retreating backs.

Harry, Ron, Lily, and Hermione strolled off along the winding, cobbled steet. Harry bought the four of them large strawberry-and-peanut-butter ice creams, which Lily slurped happily as they wandered up the alley, examining the fascinating shop windows. Ron gazed longingly at a full set of Chudley Cannon robes in the windows of Quality Quidditch Supplies until Hermione dragged them off to buy ink and parchment next door. In Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop, they met Fred, George, Lee Jordan, who were stocking up on Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No Heat Fireworks, and in a tiny junk shop full of broken wands, lopsided brass scales, and old cloaks covered in potion stains they found Percy, deeply immersed in a small and deeply boring book called _Prefects Who Gained Power_.

"_A study of Hogwarts prefects and their later careers,"_ Ron read aloud off the back cover. "That sounds _fascinating_. . . ."

"Go away," Percy snapped.

" 'Course he's very ambitious, Percy, he's got it all planned out. . . . He wants to be Minister of Magic . . . " Ron told Harry, Lily, and Hermione in an undertone as they left Percy to it.

An hour later, they headed for Flouish and Blotts. They were by no means the only ones making their way to the bookshop. As they approach it, they saw to their surprise a large crowd jostling outside the doors, trying to get in. The reason for this was proclaimed by a large banner stretched across the upper windows:

GILDEROY LOCKHART

will be signing copies of his autobiography

_MAGICAL ME_

today 12:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.

"We can actually meet him!" Hermione squealed. "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!"

The crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches around Mrs. Weasley's age. A harassed-looking wizard stood at the door, saying, "Calmly, please, ladies. . . . Don't push, there . . . mind the books, now. . . ."

Harry, Ron, Lily, and Hermione squeezed inside. A long line wound right to the back of the shop, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing his books. They each grabbed a copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 _and sneaked up the line to where the rest of the Weasleys were standing with Mr. and Mrs. Granger.

"Oh, there you are, good," said Mrs. Weasley. She sounded breathless and kept patting her hair. "We'll be able to see him in a minute. . . ."

Gilderoy Lockhart came slowly into view, seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzling white teeth at the crowd. The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes; his pointed wizard's hat was set at jaunty angle on his wavy blond hair.

A short, irritable-looking man was dancing around taking photographs with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash.

"I'm going to go look at some other books," Lily said, leaving Harry, the Grangers, and the Weasleys in line.

With a copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_ in her arms, Lily fought through the crowd of witches to the potion section. She picked out a few books to buy — they were supposed to contain reciepes for potions that were very challenging to brew — and she had just turned to get back in line when she realized a familiar white-blond-haired boy was standing next to her.

It was Draco Malfoy.

"Hello, Lily," said Draco with a smile.

"Hi, Draco," Lily said. Surprisingly enough, Draco's father was standing behind him — she only knew it was Draco's father because of the startling similarities they shared. "Er — hello, Mr. Malfoy."

"Please, call me Lucius," his father said. They shared the same white-blond hair and the same pale eyes.

"Oh, well, it's nice to meet you . . . Lucius," Lily said, feeling extremely awkward.

"So, are _you_ the Lily my son has been telling me about all summer?" Lucuis said. At his father's question, Draco's face turned a light shade of pink.

"Er — maybe. My name is Lily Riddle."

"Ah, yes, that's the one — it's good to know my son has befriended one of the _best_ Slytherins," said Lucius with something that sounded like pride in his voice. She noticed his eyes flicker to her left arm where the scars _T.M.R. _were, standing out on her pale skin. His eyes travelled up to her Dark Mark, but Lucius frowned slightly when he saw that the Dark Mark was covered.

Lily felt a bit uncomfortable but shook her head, trying to act as if she didn't notice. "Sorry, sir, but you must've been misinformed — I'm in Gryffindor, not Slytherin."

"_What?"_ Lucius hissed. "They put a _Riddle_ in _Gryffindor_?"

"My father was in Gryffindor," Lily retorted.

"You're father wasn't like your uncle," growled Lucius.

Lily was taken aback by his comment. "H-how do you know my uncle?"

Lucius seemed to regret saying what he said when he realized Lily knew something about her uncle.

"Many of us who were alive and were old enough to remember what your uncle did know him — and we shall never forget him," Lucius said stiffly, but Lily had a bad feeling that Lucius knew her uncle for other reasons.

Draco looked thoroughly confused, but this didn't stop Lily from saying, "Right, well, I should probably go get my other books — bye, Draco."

She pushed past Draco and walked back to the Weasleys, stumbling several times and dropping her books twice. When she finally fought her way through the entire crowd and reached the Weasleys, she saw that Harry was also returning to the group.

"Where'd you go?" Lily asked Harry as he returned to them with his arms full of Lockhart's books.

"Lockhart saw me," he muttered grumpily. "Hopefully he won't see you —"

But as Harry said this, none other than Gilderoy Lockhart appeared.

"Oh my! Is it so? Lily Riddle is here, too? Are you friends with each other?" Lockhart said to Harry and Lily. The two of them nodded slowly. "Splendid! So, are you excited about this up coming school year, Lily?" said Lockhart as he pulled Lily to the front of the crowd.

"Er — why would I?" Lily said awkwardly.

Lockhart laughed. "Why? Ah, Lily, you're so cute! Isn't she adorable?" he said to the crowd of witches. They all laughed and nodded in agreement. "Well, I'm sure Harry told you how I gave him my books, right?"

"Well, no, not really —"

"I knew it! Well, we wouldn't want you to get jealous, now would we?" said Lockhart, obviously ignoring Lily.

"That's quite alright —"

"Splendid! We'll just give you a copy of all my books, no charge! But first, we should get a few pictures. . . ."

Lily's books were taken from her hands, and Lockhart pulled her into a one-armed hug while the photographer from earlier began snapping photos left and right, blinding Lily.

"Why don't we get Harry up here so we can get a photograph of the three of us? We're friends after all, right?" Lockhart suggested in the midist of the photos.

The books were taken from Harry by Mrs. Weasley, and he was pushed up front with Lily and Lockhart. Gilderoy flashed his dazzling white smile while Harry and Lily tried to make the most convincing smiles they could manage. They were finally released from Lockhart's grip and were given their books back.

As they fought their way through the crowd Lily whispered to Harry, "He's a very odd man, isn't he?"

"Lily, saying he's odd is an understatement," Harry muttered. "Too bad he's our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"You're kidding," Lily groaned.

"I wish I was."

They made their way out of the limelight to the edge of the room, where Ginny was standing next to her new cauldron.

"You have these," Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the cauldron — Lily placed her books on the table next to it. "I'll buy my own —"

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" said a voice Lily had heard only moments ago. She turned and saw Draco standing there, who was wearing a sneer she didn't usually see.

"_Famous_ Harry Potter," said Draco. "Can't even go into a _bookshop_ without making the front page."

"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" said Ginny. It was the first time she had spoken in front of Harry. She was glaring at Draco.

"Potter, you've got yourself a _girlfriend_!" drawled Draco. Ginny went scarlet.

"Oh, _back off_, Draco," Lily sighed. "Besides, _I_ just got _my_ picture taken. Aren't you going to say anything about that?"

Draco went a shade of pink as he stammered, "Er — w-well, that's different."

"No, it's not. I didn't want my picture taken — neither did Harry. I'm pretty sure those two situations are the same," Lily said calmly. "I told you, the only way we can be friends is if you're nice to my other friends."

"But your friends are so . . . different from us," Draco complained. "How can I be nice to them?"

"If you really want to be my friend, you'll manage."

"But —"

"Oh, it's you," said Ron after he and Hermione fought their way over, both clutching stacks of Lockhart's books. Ron was looking at Draco as if he were something unpleasant on the sole of his shoe. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"

"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley," retorted Draco. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those."

_So much for being nice, _Lily thought.

Ron went as red as Ginny. He dropped his books into the cauldron, too, and started toward Draco, but Harry, Lily, and Hermione grabbed the back of his jacket.

"Ron!" said Mr. Weasley, struggling over with Fred and George. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."

"Well, well, well — Arthur Weasley."

It was Lucius Malfoy. He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder, sneering in just the same way.

"Lucius," said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly.

"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Lucius. "All those raids . . . I hope they're paying you overtime?"

He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossy Lockhart books, a very old, very battered copy of _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration._

"Obviously not," Lucius said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"

Mr. Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny.

"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he said.

"Clearly," said Lucius, his pale eyes straying to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who were watching apprehensively. "The company you keep, Weasley . . . and I thought your family could sink no lower —"

There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying; Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at Lucius, knocking him backward into a bookshelf. Dozens of heavy spell books came thundering down on all their heads; there was a yell of, "Get him, Dad!" from Fred and George; Mrs. Weasley was shrieking, "No, Arthur, no!"; the crowd stampeded backward, kocking more shelves over; "Gentlemen, please — please!" cried the assistant, and then, louder than all —

"Break it up, there, gents, break it up —"

Hagrid was wading toward them through the sea of books. In an instant he had pulled Mr. Weasley and Lucius apart. Mr. Weasley had a cut lip and Lucius had been hit in the eye by an _Encyclopedia of Toadstools_. He was still holding Ginny's old Transfiguration book. He thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice.

"Here, girl — take your book — it's the best your father can give you —" Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip he beckoned to Draco and swept from the shop.

"Yeh should've ignored him, Arthur," said Hagrid, almost lifting Mr. Weasley off his feet as he straightened his robes. "Rotten ter the core, the whole family, everyone knows that — no Malfoy's worth listenin' ter — bad blood, that's what it is — come on now — let's get outta here."

The assistant looked as though he wanted to stop them leaving, but he barely came up to Hagrid's waist and seemed to think better of it. They hurried up the street, the Grangers shaking with fright and Mrs. Weasley beside herself with fury.

"A _fine_ example to set for you children . . . _brawling_ in public . . . _what_ Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought —"

"He was pleased," said Fred. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the _Daily Prophet _if he'd be able to work the fight into his repot — said it was all publicity —"

But it was a subdued group that headed back to the fireside in the Leaky Cauldron, where Harry, Lily, the Weasleys, and all their shopping would be travelling back to the Burrow using Floo powder. They said good-bye to the Grangers, who were leaving the pub for the Muggle street on the other side; Mr. Weasley started to ask them how bus stops worked, but stopped quickly at the look on Mrs. Weasley's face.

Lily took a deep breath and let out a long sigh before helping herself to some Floo powder. She could think of many better ways to travel.

* * *

**Well, that's the end of chapter ten! Please let me know what you think! Your feedback is SO important to me! And I'm loving the reviews I got last chapter! :)**


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